Military Bases Planned for Arctic

A handful of towns and cities across the North could be chosen for small, permanent military bases as competition for the Arctic heats up.

The Canadian Forces are looking at setting up bases throughout the Arctic to bolster search-and-rescue operations and to assert the country as a true northern power. Locations suggested for bases include Yellowknife, Iqaluit, Rankin Inlet, Whitehorse, Inuvik, and Alert, the site of the northernmost permanent human settlement on the planet. The study, obtained by the Toronto Star, concludes that building transportation hubs at strategic points around Nunavut, the Yukon, and the Northwest Territories would strengthen Canada's claim to Arctic resources at a time when the U.S., Denmark, Norway, and Russia are all also jockeying for position around the North Pole. The military has said that no plans for permanent bases have been made official yet.