A New Arctic Policy Framework for Canada

On February 6, 2018, the CPA, represented by Jean-Francois Duguay, Director, Government Relations, Atlantic and Quebec, attended a conference that discussed a new Arctic Policy Framework for Canada. The session, held in Ottawa, featured roundtable discussions with participants from across Canada.

The focus on the Arctic is the result of the 2016 Federal Government commitment to co-develop a new Arctic Policy Framework with Northerners, territorial and provincial governments, and First Nations, Inuit, and Métis people and will replace Canada’s Northern Strategy and Statement on Canada’s Arctic Foreign Policy.

The new Framework will provide overarching direction to the Government of Canada’s priorities, activities and investments in the Arctic until 2030.

Information gathered will be used as input in the development of the Framework, along with information gathered at regional multi-stakeholder roundtables, and through ongoing engagement with Indigenous governments and representatives and territorial and provincial governments directly involved in the co-development process.

To help communities and industries across Canada’s North move off of diesel and heavy fuel oil, the CPA recommends that the Federal Government include northern propane projects within the eligibility criteria for federal northern infrastructure funding programs and work with the Indigenous communities and the propane industry to develop and deploy propane as a sustainable alternative to diesel for northern and remote communities.

As the Government of Canada develops an off-diesel strategy for Canada’s North, which the CPA believes should be a critical part of the new Arctic policy, low-emission propane has a significant role to play as the predominant fuel for Indigenous, northern and remote communities.