THE STANDING SENATE COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY, DEFENCE AND VETERANS AFFAIRS
EVIDENCE
OTTAWA, Monday, December 5, 2022
The Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs met with videoconference this day at 4 p.m. [ET] to examine and report on issues relating to security and defence in the Arctic.
Senator Tony Dean (Chair) in the chair.
[English]
The Chair: Welcome to this meeting of the Standing Senate Committee on National Security, Defence and Veterans Affairs. I’m Tony Dean, senator from Ontario and chair of the committee. I’m joined today by my fellow committee members: Senator Jean-Guy Dagenais, the deputy chair of this committee, representing Quebec, and Senator Pat Duncan, representing the Yukon. Given the circumstances this afternoon, I think it’s appropriate to mention that Senator Duncan is the former premier of the Yukon. We also have Senator Victor Oh, representing Ontario; Senator David Richards, representing New Brunswick; and Senator Hassan Yussuff, representing Ontario.
For those watching today’s session, we’re continuing our study on security and defence in the Arctic, including military infrastructure and security capabilities. Today, we’ll be hearing from two panels of witnesses who are here to share their unique perspectives on security and defence in the Yukon Territory. I will note that this is the first meeting of this committee with all witnesses being present in the room since the onset of COVID. So it’s a marker of the biography of COVID and of the Senate.
In our first panel, we’re pleased to welcome, here in Ottawa, the Honourable Sandy Silver, Premier of Yukon. Thank you, Premier Silver, for joining us this evening. It’s a privilege to hear from you. We’re delighted that you could come and join us today. I acknowledge that we fell short on our cross-Arctic trip. We did not make it to the Yukon, and we very much regret that.
We are going to begin the session by inviting you to provide your opening remarks. That will be followed by questions from members.
Mr. Premier, welcome and begin whenever you are ready.
The Honourable Sandy Silver, Premier of Yukon: Thank you very much, senators, for having me here today on the traditional, unceded territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation.
The Yukon — as you all know — as the westernmost part of Canada, has an important and unique role in the conversation on Arctic security. The Pacific is key to the Yukon’s mineral exports, and the Bering Strait is one of the places we can see incursions from Russia or China into the North American Arctic. Since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, I and my fellow premiers in the North have been united in our message to colleagues in Canada and to our international Arctic allies. We believe that healthy, resilient communities are the foundation for a secure and sovereign north, and an investment in security should help develop strong communities — dual purpose. We have engaged the Council of the Federation, and all 13 premiers agree on the importance of strengthening Arctic sovereignty and security and have called on the federal government to identify new financial resources to support sovereignty in Canada’s North.
This summer, the Yukon hosted ambassadors to Canada from Norway, Finland, Iceland, Sweden and Denmark. I also visited Iceland and Greenland, where the three territorial premiers addressed the Arctic Circle Forum for the first time. These engagements revealed a shared vision of well-supported, healthy and secure northern communities. We need to work closely with our Nordic partners to address the shared challenges that impact the Arctic, including climate change, Arctic security and community resilience.
Yukon infrastructure plays an important role in making the defence presence in the North more agile and sustainable. Having diverse, robust and secure energy, transportation and telecommunications infrastructure will increase the Yukon’s — and Canada’s — resiliency to threats. It will give the Department of National Defence the ability to defend against various threats while minimizing impacts on local communities. Our extensive highway networks connect all but one of our Yukon communities, and that includes the Alaska Highway, which is the only overland route to Alaska. The Yukon government operates five airports and twenty aerodromes, including our international airport in Whitehorse and many remote airstrips throughout the territory. Improving these runways and highways will increase the resilience of the Yukon communities and provide more robust and secure supply chains for any deployment.
Some of the biggest risks to our infrastructure are driven by climate change. This summer, a portion of the Alaska Highway was washed out for a number of days. Thankfully, traffic could be rerouted through British Columbia, but there are areas where the Alaska Highway is the only link into the Yukon and, by extension, Alaska.
The Yukon also sees periodic telecommunication and internet outages. Folks down in the south of Canada were surprised and frustrated when the Rogers network outage occurred this summer. These types of events are no surprise in the North and, unfortunately, are more common. We are investing in telecommunications redundancy that will help improve resilience in dozens of communities in the Yukon and also in the Northwest Territories, but these projects require considerable time and resources and are often overdue. The Yukon is interested in multiple-purpose infrastructure that can provide long-term benefits to both the Canadian Armed Forces and local communities.
The security of North America and the Yukon’s future prosperity are linked to a secure supply of critical minerals. The Yukon has substantial critical mineral interest that can support clean energy and transition us to a low-carbon economy. The federal government of Canada has the Canadian Minerals and Metals Plan that recognizes our country’s potential to provide secure, environmentally sustainable minerals for domestic use and export. Canada has 25 of the 31 critical minerals in Canada’s national strategy, including world-class tungsten, zinc and copper. Our access to tidewater allows for a relatively direct supply to international markets as well.
The Yukon has a robust and effective assessment and regulatory regime that continues to uphold the responsible resource development in our territory, and our work to build strong relationships with Yukon First Nations has increased investor confidence and ensured that local communities are involved in and benefit from development projects. The Canada-U.S. Joint Action Plan on Critical Minerals Collaboration, which the Yukon is a signatory to, describes how to advance the mutual interests of both nations. Now is the time to develop these critical minerals and for the governments to establish favourable conditions to enable that.
We know that most of the North American Aerospace Defense Command modernization investment will not go to the North. The bulk of the spending will go to southern firms for specialized equipment and services. We ask that those developing the programs look closely at the assets that can be left in the northern communities for future use, not only infrastructure and equipment but also experience, training and capacity building. When you look at the Canadian Rangers, for example, you see an intersection between security, safety and the capacity building that can bring lasting benefits to our communities. Rangers can be quickly mobilized, participate in coordinated responses with our other agencies and facilitate engagement with communities, and the skills they develop through the national defence programs support other community safety activities such as search and rescue.
When Operation NANOOK is in the Yukon, we see opportunities to build capacity and help prepare us to manage our own disasters and emergencies, which have been increasing in frequency as the climate continues to change.
I believe the North American Aerospace Defense Command programs over the next few decades can have a huge positive impact on the northern communities and build northern resilience. The Yukon’s role in continental security is most obvious in our connections with Alaska and being able to supply American military operations there. A well-maintained Alaska Highway is critical to that. We have an agreement from 1977, from both the United States and Canada, for the maintenance of some of those portions of the highway. Securing adequate funds for this work is a reoccurring priority of our government, and we continue to work with our Alaskan counterparts, who recognize the critical importance of this land route.
In closing, I would like to thank the committee for listening to our government’s perspectives on Arctic security. While you were not able to come to the Yukon for your northern tour, I understand that you heard from some Yukon First Nations leaders last week. I hope that you do have an opportunity to visit and to speak with other Indigenous and community leaders to hear directly from them about these matters.
In my discussions with Prime Minister Trudeau, we have agreed that Arctic sovereignty and security come first and foremost from the people of the North. Working together to support healthy, vibrant, thriving and safe communities in Canada’s North is essential to long-term, sustainable Arctic security.
Thank you very much.
The Chair: Premier, thank you very much for that opening statement. It was very comprehensive.
Before I move to questions from our members, I would remind participants in the room to be careful about leaning in too close to the microphones or to remove your earpiece when doing that, which will ensure that any sound feedback that could negatively impact committee staff in the room is kept to an absolute minimum. I would now like to offer the first question this afternoon to Deputy Chair Senator Dagenais.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: Thank you, premier, for accepting our invitation.
When living in the Yukon, it’s clear that it is impossible to ignore what’s happening with your next-door neighbour, Alaska. Do you sometimes get the impression of being neglected by Canada, compared to the attention the American government gives to Alaska’s infrastructure and citizens?
[English]
Mr. Silver: Thank you for the question. It’s always interesting living with a shared border with the Americans, that’s for sure. I spoke with Senator Murkowski just last week. What I would say is there are more parallels than differences when it comes to the two federal governments and the importance of critical minerals. Now is the time to really seize an opportunity, though.
When it comes to infrastructure of a national consideration, the current government has done a lot of work. We have over a half-a-billion dollars’ worth of money for roads for resources, for example, outside of our regular federal transfer of dollars. This is extremely important money, and also it shows a willingness to start working on a very important critical mineral strategy and putting money where the mouth is by investing into these infrastructure pieces.
However, we really are in a race right now. Today was the first day that we see electric vans coming out of Ontario, being produced here in Canada. We have the critical minerals to keep that supply chain inside of Canada. We and Alaska — and, therefore, the Americans — have the same concerns when it comes to Chinese investments. We have seen in Yukon Chinese national mining companies holding resources in the ground, and so we really want to make sure that we have the ability to use these resources on a strong pathway forward, but there is a lot of competition.
Alaska is poised right now as well, and they are doing an awful a lot of communicating that they will be the new Center for Critical Minerals, and this is a real opportunity, not only for the Canadian government to invest in the resources that Doug Ford is going to need for the automotive industry in Windsor, but also to strengthen relationships with First Nations governments. We’re talking about the importance of an equity stake when it comes to our resources, and I think that we are poised to be a leader in the world when it comes to a secure and environmentally conscientious resource industry.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: If we talk about climate change leading to new measures required for securing the Arctic’s territory, among other things, do you consider that the federal government waited too long to react and develop a strategy?
Can you tell us about two or three of the main problems caused by warming that are affecting people living in the Yukon?
[English]
Mr. Silver: It’s a very good question. I had an opportunity during Canada’s 150th to see the C3 military ships coming to our most northern part of Yukon, the Herschel Island. To be up there and to see the sloughing of the cliffs is to see a real canary in the coal mine. The North experiences climate change at three times the rate of anywhere else, and to see the degradation of our permafrost is a real concern.
We have an obligation as a territorial government to do our part. We have Our Clean Future, which is a comprehensive 10-year plan to help combat climate change. The federal government is keeping our feet to the fire with the targets and the increase in targets. It is extremely important that we maintain our abilities to hit these targets. It’s interesting, though, as we developed our own targets in the Yukon, the environmental professionals there knew that with current technologies we couldn’t necessarily hit those targets. They did that on purpose, because we know that the technology is expanding exponentially right now. With the right investment from the federal government, focusing money into the right areas, we will hit those targets.
To your point, I can’t comment on whether or not they were too quick or too slow to this table. But moving forward, we absolutely need a federal government that’s going to invest heavily in the technologies that we need to hit these targets, because using current methods and methodologies, we can’t. So we need to be at the cutting edge.
I look to places like Prince Edward Island where they’re doing amazing things with aerospace technology. When you look at that, you can see that small jurisdictions can do massive things when it comes to technologies. In the Yukon, our technology is one of the largest growing contributing sectors to our GDP. We can all work together for this, but it does take a federal commitment to those dollars to make sure we hit these targets.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: Overall, would you say that Ottawa is taking Indigenous peoples’ claims seriously enough? Also, which priority recommendations would you want to see in our report?
[English]
Mr. Silver: Well, how long do you have? This is a very important question, absolutely. In the context of your report, it’s my job to really focus your attention on Arctic sovereignty. The conversation I know you are having is from a national perspective and on securities. It’s extremely important that we all focus in on the small, rural Indigenous communities. We presented at the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region, or PNWER, annual summit this summer in Calgary and also in Iceland and Greenland, and a lot of times my conversations are to shareholders of corporations. The Guggenheims have shown the economic benefit of Northwest Passages opening up the markets. How do we as politicians let the shareholders of these companies know that the education of an Indigenous person in Old Crow, our most rural and northern community, is as important to their bottom line as anything else? And it is. Because with modern treaty First Nations, sophisticated First Nations governments at the table, that is the most important thing that we can invest in as a nation when it comes to the ever-expanding Northwest Passages and the eyes of the Circumpolar North looking towards our region. We have very small populations, but it’s extremely important that these communities are secure.
We have seen federal governments hopefully transition from a “use-it-or-lose-it” to a “no decision about us, without us” mentality. I would say that the most important piece of that, from my perspective, are the chapters of the Arctic and Northern Policy Framework. Those chapters are a lot of work from a lot of different leadership right across the three territories. Every one of those chapters, as they develop, those pages need money attached to them. Otherwise, we’re going to have another activity put on a shelf and some other government will come forward and start again from scratch. Thank you for the question. If you are asking me as far as what is really important, that document is extremely important, and the federal government needs to put money into it.
Senator Richards: Thank you, premier, for being here.
I have written quite a bit on the importance of First Nation education. However, I am going to go back to the security issue just for a minute, because I don’t think China or the former U.S.S.R. really care too much about our First Nations anyway. How does Canada compare in readiness in Arctic security to other Arctic nations? How far behind are we? Are we, in fact, behind at all? Maybe you might answer that. All this investment will not matter if our sovereignty becomes questioned by Russia or Chinese hegemony.
My second question is how many Canadian Rangers do we actually have in the North? I don’t think we’re up to speed on that. Could you comment on those two questions, please?
Mr. Silver: Thank you, senator. I wouldn’t be able to comment on how many Rangers we have across the three territories. I don’t know that number.
But extremely important funding would be in the Junior Rangers programs. I know that in the past, when we see money shrinking from the federal government, the first thing to go is the educational component of the Junior Rangers programs.
When we talk about dual purpose, whether we are ahead or behind, it’s how we move forward, sir. It’s how we make sure we do dual purpose that’s so important.
If we have to catch up, then investing in the types of infrastructure that can be used by the communities is of the utmost importance. Investing in the technology and education of our most rural communities is extremely important.
The days of being born and raised without the internet are still happening. We need to make sure we have the internet in every classroom. We need to have redundancy. All of these pieces are extremely —
Senator Richards: But, sir, are we doing that? That is a part of the question too. Are we doing that, sir?
Mr. Silver: Is the territorial government doing that, or is the federal government doing that?
Senator Richards: Yes. Is the internet getting into those communities? Is education a primary factor in those communities?
Mr. Silver: We are prioritizing that, absolutely.
Senator Richards: Yes.
Mr. Silver: For example, the redundancy project that’s going through the Dempster Highway is an extremely important loop. If somebody breaks a cable in Edmonton, our whole territory loses the internet.
As we ask people to modernize and move to a lower-carbon future, we’re asking placer miners in my community to use modern technology to run their equipment. We have to make sure that we keep up on our assets to make sure that they can do that. That fibre project will not only help Yukoners, but it will also add redundancy to the Northwest Territories.
The private sector is extremely important to this as well. We now have fibre right to the homes in small communities like Dawson City, where I’m from. You can be the judge as to whether we’re doing enough or not. I think it’s an extremely important part of our annual budget. It is something that we think is extremely important.
I’m a school teacher. I came from an Indigenous community, teaching there. We have changed our First Nations school systems. We now have eight schools that are part of a First Nations school board. We thought we might get one. We got eight right away. The next round, I’m sure we’re getting more as well.
Our students will be like unicorns in post-secondary education areas across the country; they’ll be sought after, because the way that we’re teaching and educating, in unison with First Nations leadership, will be extremely important to the post-secondary institutions right across this country.
Senator Richards: Sir, I come from a rural area surrounded by four reserves. My concerns are mainly your concerns too. I still think if we can’t hold on to our sovereignty, we’re going to be in bad trouble.
Mr. Silver: I concur.
Senator Richards: That was the gist of my question. Thank you very much, sir.
Mr. Silver: I completely agree with that statement, absolutely.
The benefit of self-governing in the Yukon — We have half of the modern treaties in Canada in Yukon. We don’t have reserves. If I can get all honourable senators, every time you talk to any minister about on-reserve and off-reserve funding, explain that it doesn’t work for the Yukon. There are unique situations in the North that need to be recognized in policy.
The Chair: Thank you, premier.
Senator Yussuff: Thank you, premier, for making the journey here. I think we were all disappointed that we weren’t able to make it to the Yukon, given the challenges we faced as a committee travelling the North. I do need to tell you that what we were able to experience and see by being up there was truly amazing. I have a different perspective about the challenges we face as a country going forward.
This is a daunting effort. Obviously, for the modernization of NORAD, there is a different way for us to look at this, because we’re doing it at a time when the Arctic is changing in a very significant way and at a speed we are yet to appreciate.
There are many challenges we are going to face in this period as to how we modernize NORAD. Where are the investments going to be? What is going to be the other partnering in those investments that will help the local communities that are critical to this?
I will start with two areas.
In terms of this modernization of NORAD, what do you say are the priorities for your territory and your area specifically? If the minister is to be advised by us in terms of what we think is a priority, I would prefer to hear it from you rather than pretend that I know what your priorities are.
Mr. Silver: I appreciate that. I appreciate your work in labour in Canada.
It comes down to the devil is in the details. I know when the announcement was made of the $4.9 billion, a lot of the details of which have already been laid out. We don’t necessarily see in those dollars direct, dual-purpose investments into Arctic sovereignty yet.
It is extremely important funding. As a Canadian, I’m very proud that the federal government is now putting this money towards our obligations to NATO. We’re looking to see how that pertains to what the three territorial premiers have been saying about “no decision about us without us,” and also the importance of investing in our infrastructure that’s not just for NORAD.
That technology piece is extremely important. We went from Yukon College to Yukon University within our tenure. The research technology that we have is expanding at an exponential rate. We are a very sophisticated part of Canada. We’re growing more quickly than any other place in Canada: 12.5% growth in population over the last five years, with the lowest unemployment rate in Canada.
The Yukon is not the same place it was ten years ago. It is a modern, advancing society. The federal government will only benefit by listening to the needs of the communities that we have right now.
There are a couple of different pieces of the platform moving forward, five different directions that this new funding is allocated towards. We’re focusing on the one about strong investments into infrastructure. We need to know what the federal government means when they say strong investments into infrastructure.
I mentioned in my opening speech how important aerodromes and airports are, as are bridges. We applied for funding for some of our more northern roads; we’re expanding them, so that they are all of the same quality and level so that we can get our mining community moving more quickly in the year.
To be able to take a look at what we are already accomplishing in working with the federal government, we have gotten a lot of flexibility on infrastructure dollars at a 25-75 split, which is probably the envy of a lot of provinces. How do we fill in those deficits? How do we make sure that we are communicating so that this investment, over the long term, takes into consideration the deficits that we have now, the population growth that we’re experiencing? Labour shortages are a big problem right across the nation, for sure, and it is for us as well, again, having the lowest unemployment rate in Canada.
If I were to pick a top consideration, it’s education, training; our citizens are there for that. We’re ready. We have a very well-educated population.
Self-governing has done one thing, if it hasn’t done a thousand things, and that’s this reverse brain drain of Indigenous students coming back and working in their own governments and communities.
As a schoolteacher starting in 1998 in Dawson City, I was there for the first years of self-governance. I have seen this exponential growth in capacity. It’s not as if listening to the North is going to be a deficit or deterrent to progress; it’s going to make sure that the dollars are focused in on the right places.
It is infrastructure, as I mentioned, as well as training and what can be kept in the North after exercises of a military nature get completed.
Senator Yussuff: You spoke about the Canadian Rangers. We heard incredible stories about their contribution to our efforts. They have local knowledge. They have an understanding of their community.
Most often, despite all the sophisticated radar we may have, they are better equipped to understand the needs of the North and, more importantly, able to navigate in the North.
We did hear stories about the challenges. Older Rangers are retiring from the program, so we need to consider how to get younger folks involved in that.
From your knowledge and understanding, how can the federal government, specifically DND — the Department of National Defence — better facilitate and support the Junior Rangers program? What are some of the things that are missing that we could recommend that would be helpful? We have heard that we’re not sure that when one generation leaves there will be another one to fill that gap.
Mr. Silver: Exacerbated by the lost generation due to residential schools as well. Again, when I was on Herschel Island for the C3 mission, hearing about that gap of knowledge of grandpa’s trapline and then a missing generation and trying to get back to the traditional knowledge base. We need to embrace our Indigenous leaders and education. We have many such leaders in the Yukon, and it’s extremely important to listen to them when it comes to how to deal with that complication of a lost generation.
As a school teacher, I’ve seen it. Our curriculum is extremely important and needs to be invested heavily in. We’re on the British Columbia system. When I was a math teacher, I helped develop the curriculum in math. It wasn’t that long ago that education about the Pythagorean theorem or these other things were based on examples that people in the North never saw before, escalators or these different real-world examples that didn’t make any sense to Indigenous people growing up in the North. Making sure the curriculum looks like the communities in which it serves is extremely important. On the land, experiential learning in science is so important. I’ve seen it. You get a student who does not thrive at all in a Western culture education system and is bored because of that, but then, out on the land with the Rangers, they’re there on grandpa’s trapline, talking about traditional knowledge, leading their peers, and it gives them such a sense of importance of self-worth.
Whether it’s in the classroom or with the Rangers, I urge any funding to make sure that it definitely — like I’ve said before, the first thing to go is the Junior Ranger programs and then the training there. The Rangers are extremely important as they are the eyes and ears of the North. It took a long time to get the rifles. We want to see more important investments in the Rangers for the one side, the national defence side of things, and on the other side, remember that most of the people that are in the Ranger program are elders in the community, like you said, but they’re also all generations of leaders, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, working together on the land to support the growth of the Junior Ranger program and citizens and students in general. Again, it’s about investing heavily in alternative styles of education; that is extremely important. Again, as a teacher the Ranger program is so important.
If you’re a math teacher coming from Nova Scotia originally, the first few years, it’s really hard to gain trust and for good reason. A lot of teachers from down South come up, they do a couple of years, pay off a student loan and leave. It’s heartbreaking, it really is, because if you start investing emotionally in these teachers and they leave, you shut down again. Whereas, in my classroom, you invite the Rangers in, and they’re like superheroes, they really are, to the whole community. It’s important to have that continuation as these elders start to retire.
Senator Yussuff: You did touch on something that is going to play an important role in the North: supporting new technology for EVs, or electric vehicles, and the challenge we face in dealing with climate change here in southern Ontario. I used to work for General Motors a long time ago, so I do understand the need for us to get there and get there quicker.
In the context of critical minerals, the federal government is putting severe restrictions on foreign investment in this particular sector, recognizing, of course, China and other countries are interested in having access to this. Does this pose a challenge for development of the critical minerals sector in the Yukon? More importantly, based on the national security agenda, do you have any fundamental objection to the federal government imposing these restrictions? Of course, we want to make sure we are dealing with our own challenges and collaborating with our American friends in the process going forward. Other countries that are not necessarily supportive of our sovereignty may want to infringe upon it. I’d like to hear your perspective as premier. It’s hard to manage a territory if you don’t know what the investment climate could be.
Mr. Silver: Yes, when it comes to Chinese investment in the Yukon, I only know what I know. I can’t speak to international policy from the country and the rationale behind that. I can only talk about what I’ve seen.
We saw Wolverine — which is a major mining project in the Yukon, Chinese supported — not keeping up on their security and then leaving, and now we’re left footing the bill. That’s extremely detrimental on so many different levels. You’re trying to get buy-in of elders in certain communities about mining and the importance of mining, and yet you have national companies coming in and not doing what they’re supposed to when it comes to securities and bonds and clean-up.
I’ve also seen the Selwyn Chihong project in the Yukon, a massive project, which actually was even part of that Northern Gateway original monies. Whether anybody in the mining community in the Yukon thought that that project was ever going to get off the ground — again, very concerning. Why would we invest, especially when we know what China does in monopolizing resources right across the world?
What the Canadian government has done, which we need them to continue, is the tax credit for exploration. Investing heavily in the junior companies, in the prospectors, that is where I’ve seen the best bang for buck in investment. Back in 2008-09 there was this large geochemistry experiment in the mountains of the Yukon where we had unbelievable investment in the exploration. However, too many junior companies were more interested in selling projects off to majors, and nothing came out of that. Also why nothing came out of that, in my humble opinion, is because the First Nations were not at that table. Again, if you’re going to have a critical minerals market and economy in Canada, where is the equity stake for First Nations? That’s extremely important. We talked about utilities corridors with the Council of the Federation. We pivoted from a conversation about a pipeline between two jurisdictions, which as very controversial, to a conversation about national unity that talked about utilities corridors for everything from rail to telecommunications, and that conversation involved First Nations up front.
I’ll answer your question on a sideways basis by saying what I know, which is if you have a federal government that wants to invest in critical minerals, we need to see the final version of that strategy and investment in the exploration tax credits to continue and to expand. We also need to see a bigger equity stake with our First Nations brothers and sisters and their governments.
Senator Yussuff: Could I tell you a little story about the wonderful people of the Yukon?
Mr. Silver: Please, by all means.
Senator Yussuff: I was there for a meeting with the premiers — this is going way back — talking about the expansion of the Canada Pension Plan. That night in the restaurant I lost my wallet. The next morning, I woke up and couldn’t find my wallet and didn’t know where I lost it. I searched everywhere and couldn’t find it. I went back to the restaurant immediately when it opened, and the person who was cleaning said, “I haven’t seen any wallet, but you’re free to look around.” I looked above the ledge where the cashier was standing that evening, and there was my wallet sitting there. Every penny and credit card was in it. It speaks to the great people of the Yukon, and I wanted to share that story. Had I not found my wallet, I couldn’t leave the Yukon because I needed my ID.
Mr. Silver: I appreciate that story, senator. It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve heard that type of generosity. I was also one of those teachers that was going to come up, pay off a student loan and leave. I remember we drove across Canada. By the time we finished at Lake Louise — which was a lot of fun — I was like, okay, I had better go take a look at what this place looks like. I didn’t know anything about the Yukon. It’s the Athabascan principles of sharing everything that really made me know right away I was in trouble. I knew within the first week there, because of the people, that I was going to be staying there for the rest of my life. It’s one of those places where when it’s minus 40 and you’re part of the community, you’re forced into being part of the community.
If you missed a weekend, those same people who kept your wallet safe will be making sure that they are making sure that you are going to be volunteering somewhere, that you are out in the community.
If you take a look at any barstools right across the Yukon in minus 40, it is a mosaic of people because we’re all in this together. If it is minus 40 and it’s cold, and we need to rely on each other, there’s just a certain type of personality that really loves that, that needs that in their lives. That is why I’m there and that’s why I’ll never leave.
Senator Yussuff: Thank you kindly for coming today.
Mr. Silver: Thank you, senator.
The Chair: Thank you, premier.
You’ve seen some minus 30 degrees temperatures already back at home there, so you are not exaggerating.
Before we move on to the second round, I have a question. We’ve heard a lot about this concept of “nothing about us without us.” We are moving into an area of heavy federal spending. We have also heard a lot about the cooperative nature of that spending and its potential impact on social and economic infrastructure. In that context, we’ve got a number of departments and agencies involved.
Can you tell us about the relationships that you and the government have with federal undertakings, departments and agencies and, particularly, those that might be involved in the planning of renewed infrastructure? How well do those relationships work? Do they need to be reviewed? Do they need to be more direct drive? What is your sense of that?
Could you also comment, to the extent possible, on your perspectives on how that might work in terms of the discussion with Indigenous communities? How well prepared is the government and its agencies to have these conversations with you, which are going to be critical in the next two or three years?
Mr. Silver: I’ll start with ICIP, Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program. A lot of times, for really good reasons, these massive federal programs are designed for Toronto and Vancouver. They’re designed for the big cities. They go through their own politics of getting federal money to provinces, to municipalities.
An awful lot of times smaller jurisdictions, like Yukon, Nunavut and Northwest Territories, are lost in the shuffle. Things don’t work for us. If a municipality in Yukon is doing a project, we’re doing the project. We’ll be doing the procurement and tendering. It’s a capacity issue. I believe the federal government over the last six years listened and gave us flexibility where we needed it.
My first year feeding from the firehose, I was the chair of the Council of the Federation. With premier Taptuna and premier McLeod at that time, and myself, we went from northern premiers, to western premiers and to the Council of the Federation with the question, what is the North? I often make the joke that the Toronto Raptors think that they’re the North. Well, we beg to differ. We’re the North.
When it came to funding, the federal government listened because the provinces and territories were all in lockstep on this, saying, “You’re right; the territories should be considered differently.” We started hearing a narrative about rural, Indigenous and remote communities quite a bit. We got the flexibility in infrastructure.
Then we started to see that become policy with things like vaccination roll-out in those very first shipments of Moderna. The North, Indigenous, remote and rural communities were prioritized and that meant the territories. We did have a government that was listening.
Sometimes it’s hard. The on-reserve, off-reserve funding, again from Senator Richards’ perspective, we don’t have the reserves up in the Yukon. We are always having to go back and explain that unique difference. There is per capita spending versus base-plus spending as well. Obligations such as health care or infrastructure are federal, constitutionally protected obligations, and we will always argue that you need to have the programming therein.
We have seen the federal government listen. We’ve had to remind them sometimes as well. With COVID being in the mix and the same reasons why this committee didn’t necessarily make it to the Yukon, it’s completely understandable.
The federal government has been dealing with programming and larger international pandemics and conflicts. We get how certain things will have to be re-established. We’ve seen a government willing to look at that flexibility.
We’ve also seen things that have concerned us as well. In the summer, the three territories were planning to engage in conversations in Iceland and Greenland. We were going to meet in Nunavut and have conversations there. We were talking with the federal ministers. We didn’t hear back. We had to make our own plans. The Prime Minister showed up in Cambridge Bay and we weren’t there.
There are times when we see setbacks. I don’t see that as being on purpose or a directive. Important conversations have to be made in a timely fashion. That, again, is the speaking of the “no decisions without us” part of that.
As far as how that relates to Indigenous leadership, I don’t speak on behalf of the Yukon First Nations. I often pull back when asked that question. I know that you had Hähké Joseph here presenting. She is the chief of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in in my community. I will leave speaking about First Nations leadership to the First Nations.
I have seen a government that has made a huge commitment to reconciliation. The 10 guiding principles that the Prime Minister put out about working with Indigenous communities are extremely important. One of those is that whichever government in whichever rural community can do something the best should be the one to do it.
We have an obligation to do that as well. Sometimes we do really well on that as a territorial government. Sometimes we fail on that. I’m sure the federal government grapples with that as well. Looking at the differences between treaties in B.C., modern treaties or self-governing First Nations in Yukon and Inuvialuit agreements, it got to be very perplexing.
We’ll give a grain of sand every time we have to remind the federal government how unique and special the Yukon is.
The Chair: Thank you very much, premier.
Senator Duncan: Thank you very much for being here, Premier Silver. I’m filling in for one of my colleagues today, Senator Deacon from Ontario. I appreciate the opportunity to ask a question.
I had the opportunity to attend, in part, the Arctic security tour of this committee. Nunavut Premier Akeeagok spoke to me of your leadership on the Arctic security file. I appreciate that.
I wonder if I can ask you to speak to the committee about Yukon’s relationship with Alaska. The reason I’m asking that is that I tell every senator that when we talk about the North, the territories are like a bowl of fruit; Yukon is as different from Nunavut as apples are different from oranges. We’re very different. Yukon is especially unique because of that shared border with Alaska.
Mr. Silver: Yes.
Senator Duncan: And from an environmental, economic and, of course, the Arctic security aspect, I wondered if you could address that relationship, please.
Mr. Silver: Yes, I agree. Think about the vast geography from where Premier Akeeagok lives to where I live. Premier Akeeagok is a very interesting man. I said in Iceland, I don’t know if I would be half the person he is knowing his and his family’s history: being moved to Grise Fiord with a promise of excellent fishing and being told that you’re doing this great thing for the nation, only to be sold a bad bill of goods. That individual is a premier right now; he is strong, resilient, forward-thinking, accepting and warm in regard to partnerships, and he is gracious with time when we do panels. We really have hit our stride, the three of us, in working together, knowing how diverse we are as northerners.
I would also say that we have more in common than we have differences. What is sacred in Nunavut is sacred in Whitehorse. It’s great to see great leadership right across the country.
Then you turn to Alaska, which is very different. It really is. We’ve had heated discussions, to say the least, on environmental issues, such as the calving grounds of the Porcupine caribou, which are extremely important to the nation, not just to the north. We have had differences of opinion as to salmon protection. However, my style has always been to focus on where we and political figures in Alaska can agree. Senator Murkowski and I just talked. We’re going to meet at the top of the Chilkoot this summer and see who has better beer. She will bring some from Alaska, and I’ll bring some from Whitehorse. I have an excellent rapport with Senator Murkowski, and her ability to work across political fields is where I focus my attention. Her work on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law was extremely important and will be extremely important for us accessing resources for the Alaska Highway.
There have been different incarnations of federal funding in regard to how the money for Alaskan infrastructure can be used in regard to the 1977 agreement on the road that goes into Alaska. For those who don’t know, this is a military-style road that goes through a community — the last community in Yukon of 40 people. If we were going to be responsible for that investment, it would be a chip seal road, and we would have to then apply for $25 million increments of the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, funding. We need their support to be able to access those funds. That’s an extremely important piece.
We’re having a really important, specific conversation about the port in Skagway with municipalities and [Technical difficulties]. We’re talking to Governor Dunleavy as well about investments in tourism in what’s called the golden triangle between Haines, Skagway and Whitehorse, but we’re also reminding Skagway that when they put all their eggs in one basket in their ports for the tourism industry and then the pandemic came along, it devastated that community. To have year-round jobs for the mining industry in Yukon is extremely important. These are difficult conversations as different funding allocations happen in different ways. Sometimes Alaska has more influence and sometimes less influence. But, again, I’m trying my best, Senator Duncan, to meet the Alaskans where they are.
Again, we’re talking dual purpose in regard to the federal investments in military funding, and we’re talking dual purpose with our friends and neighbours in Alaska when it comes to them spending and focusing their attention on the infrastructure that is extremely important to our critical mineral strategy and, hopefully, theirs as well.
Senator Duncan: You mentioned the port in Skagway as critical in terms of transporting minerals. The committee is meeting later this afternoon with the RCMP and the Canada Border Services Agency. From your perspective, how important are those four border crossings, not just in terms of traffic but also in terms of engagement with the Government of Canada?
Mr. Silver: They are extremely important. There is the Little Gold/Poker Creek border crossing outside of my community. If you leave Dawson City and head to Chicken, Alaska, there’s a small border there. We were promised that it was going to get back to pre-pandemic hours. It did not, and that cusp season in September is extremely important for bucket-list RV folks from Texas that are heading through, seeing the fall colours and getting into Alaska. It could also have this potential for oil and gas development, and there are a lot of placer miners across the river in Dawson City who could utilize longer border hours. So when it came back, and it wasn’t at the same pre-pandemic levels, that was a big deal. It’s a big deal for our sovereignty, let alone tourism. It’s extremely important.
Our tourism used to be very, very small and very, very focused on the gold rush and the gold rush only. UNESCO did an application for Dawson City, talking about Tr’ochëk and the culture of the Indigenous people. We have amazing, world-class downhill mountain biking trails in Yukon, and people from Silicon Valley want to come back, because to them, tourism is not just about coming and leaving; it’s about being part of the community.
We’re starting to really expand our tourism seasons. Therefore, we need those borders to be open not just to pre-pandemic levels. We need to start pushing those boundaries. The same goes for Skagway. Skagway is two hours away from our capital of Whitehorse, and it’s full of tourists who believe they’re in Dawson City when they’re in Skagway. I do my best to go down into Skagway and remind them that they can make their way to the actual Klondike gold fields with a good flight on Yukon’s airline Air North. But that road is a beautiful landscape. You can see the Chilkoot Trail, and you can see the White Pass Trail by train, which is an unbelievable, beautiful trip. But you’re having competing interests on that road now. A lot of people are biking those trails down. You get local Skagway private-sector tourist operations that will drive you up in vans, and you can ride down on your bike. But with ore trucks coming through, you can see why the town of Skagway, which makes so much money on tourism, is saying that maybe there shouldn’t be so much being invested in mining. But if we could have a border that is 24/7 and do some night trips with our ore trucks and then save the day for the tourism industry, that would be remarkable.
Again, it’s not just tourism. It’s having these borders opened and more modernized. I don’t know if it was this summer, but when the COVID restrictions were coming off, and we had the CANPASS, it was great that the borders were opening, but there’s no internet connection at that border. Again, we need to not only increase the hours but increase the technologies and capabilities. Our Eastlink satellite system, as you know, is antiquated technology. We’re waiting for other options right now to provide that cell service into those rural, remote areas. This is another example of something that is extremely important, and that could be a dual purpose infrastructure investment as we take a look at modernizing and using our national defence money to actually also help the tourism sector and the mining sector and improve the technologies at our borders and our most remote areas in Canada.
The Chair: Thank you very much.
Senator Oh: Welcome, premier. Actually, I was going to follow up and ask you about tourism, but you already just spoke about most of it.
What percentage has recovered since the pandemic? I’ve been to beautiful Whitehorse — lots of areas for tourism. How much was affected, and how much has recovered?
Mr. Silver: That’s a very good question, senator. In the spring, we were very happy to see that bookings were up 140%. It seemed like every hotel was booked for the summer. So it was starting to come back. However, human resources is the biggest issue right now. We went into the best restaurant in Dawson City, and there was one server. At that time, when we were in there, Victoria Gold — which is Yukon’s largest gold mine in the history of Yukon that we helped go through the permitting process — was having a celebration, and there was a tourism group. People are so ready to be back to normal, but we don’t have the people yet. I don’t know where the resource sector went, but they’re gone. It’s not just in our territory; it’s all the way across Canada.
So I think it’s a matter of finding those resources. The statistics are coming in now, and we didn’t actually come back to pre-pandemic rates yet. The forecast for next year is very, very good, but, senator, we’re still facing the same challenges. We have the beautiful vistas. We have the small, private-sector companies that have accessibility and can get planes into remote areas, if that’s what you want to do. Hopefully, we’ll get the White Pass Railway going again, which gets you from Lake Bennett down into Skagway. It’s unbelievable the experiences you can have, but again, it’s the human resources that are extremely important.
We’ve pivoted our attitude about tourism. Our department now is “culture and tourism,” and we have a new strategy when it comes to creative industries as well. The department is working with the private sector to help and get out of the way. We want to get out of the business of doing business. We want the private sector to be overdeveloped, but we really are seeing a snag right now with not having enough people.
The most interesting thing about our tourism industry is that a lot of people are on their way to Alaska with their bucket-list trip, and nine out of 10 of those folks say, “I should have spent more time in Yukon. It was the best part of my trip.”
Senator Oh: I remember your tourism minister was telling me you have a project on chasing after the aurora borealis —
Mr. Silver: Chasing after the . . . ?
Senator Oh: The northern lights.
Mr. Silver: Yes. We’re competing with the Northwest Territories as far as who has the best lights. We have seen a huge increase in the Japanese market. We’ve also seen a huge increase in, again, those cusp seasons. Our hotels are being booked. There is a plan right now for a Hyatt to be developed in Whitehorse, and most people are coming up to see the northern lights for sure. A lot of people think that you have to be there at minus 40, minus 30 to see it. No, you can be there in September and have a beautiful experience seeing the fall colours change and seeing the northern lights. It’s beautiful.
Senator Oh: Thank you.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: Thank you again, premier.
Obviously, you raised the labour shortage issue, which is being felt all throughout Canada, but have you thought about a strategy to attract people to live and work in the Yukon? Clearly, you went to the Yukon for work and stayed there, so do you have a strategy to attract people to it?
[English]
Mr. Silver: Yes, it’s multifaceted as well. The Council of the Federation before the pandemic was trying its best to reduce barriers to the labour market inside of Canada. We were talking about freeing the doctors and nurses, for example. At that time I believe it was premier Dwight Ball and Stephen McNeil who were doing a pilot project on something that they could do in the Maritimes to make the certification a little less unique so we can get doctors to move.
In the Yukon, we have done a pilot project on the nominee program. The Filipino community in the Yukon is amazing and expanding. I’m a basketball coach, so I’m very biased. The Pinoy Basketball League is bringing amazing skills to our youth in basketball. What an amazing community of people that are just family-oriented and really want to be part of the community and they are staying. That’s the big thing is getting people to stay. Once you get there, you’ll see why you’ll want to stay. It’s a matter of getting people there.
We have done pilot projects, like I say, for the nominee program. We’re trying our best with nurses and doctors. We have a whole new recruitment policy, but it’s challenging. Again, we’re competing with every other jurisdiction internally in Canada for tourism. We do have some of the best salaries in Canada. Our minimum wage is very well positioned. We have a growing government, and we’re trying our best to minimize our full-time employees as we try to draw down on our mandate to provide the programs and services from our platform commitments. Sometimes that’s at odds with the private sector that is also trying its best to attract people to come to the Yukon as well.
We have Indigenous hiring policies that are extremely important as well. Again, with those policies, sometimes you are taking from the First Nations governments. How you expand that out internationally is everybody’s problem right now. Even though we are modernizing and trying a bunch of different strategies, it is hard. Yet, like I said, in the last five years we have grown more than any other jurisdiction in Canada: 12.5%. Housing becomes a big issue as well. We have increased our housing stock at the same rate, 12%, so we’re trying our best to keep up. There is not a construction company in the Yukon that’s not working right now, and we’re building and expanding land.
We’re working with the First Nations governments. We created a new legal framework for 125-year leases for the First Nations governments so that they can start offering land as well. Yet, with the booming economy, it’s been very hard even if we do attract people to come up, maybe even for summer employment to provide housing. A lot of my good friends who came from away 20, 30 years ago are still there and running parts of our community. They lived in tents for their first year when they first got there, but they got into housing. That’s one of our biggest hurdles right now.
The federal government did commit money to modern treaties — over half a billion dollars for investment in housing. They are now going through the process of working with each First Nation individually to see how that works in their communities. That’s a big challenge as we start seeing the fruits of our labour. When it comes to modernizing our recruitment policies, whether in education or tourism, it’s the housing issue that comes with the best economy in Canada that’s really a challenge right now.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: I’d like to talk about inflation and the cost of living in the Yukon.
We know that inflation is hitting Canada. To what extent is inflation hitting harder where you live, compared to the rest of the country? Does a government like yours have the financial capacity to implement programs and help its citizens?
[English]
Mr. Silver: That’s a very good question.
We have been providing surplus budgets every year for the last six years. It was very beneficial, for example, when the pandemic came to have money in surplus at a very trying time. We worked with the business community. We set up a Business Advisory Council and put in business relief that is recognized in Canada as the best business programs during the pandemic.
Now we’re turning to inflation, international conflict, illegal conflict that is wreaking havoc with the post-pandemic supply chain issues. It has been a huge issue in the Yukon. Our inflation rates are hard to examine because they are not necessarily Yukon-wide; they are based upon Whitehorse. They are a little bit lower than the national average, but I would say if you include inflation into the communities, it’s probably worse. We have been recognized by the C.D. Howe Institute for our openness and transparency in Canada for finances. We came in second in the whole country in our budgeting. Having that surplus is also helping us with the inflationary issues that we’re finding.
It’s a little bit more unique in the Yukon compared to other jurisdictions as far as how we make sure that Yukoners are living their best lives. Every budget that we put in is focused on making lives affordable in these remote communities. We invest in things like fuel wood, for example, giving rebates per cord of wood; something you might not see in Toronto. We’re investing heavily in social assistance. It’s really important for us to give hand ups to folks that are in need, focusing our attention on those who are the most in need, in regard to our inflationary measures and investing heavily in these extraordinary times.
Hopefully, we’re going to see a relief in inflation. We are here in Ottawa to talk to Treasury Board tomorrow about what’s coming. We have heard in the budgetary statements in the fall that there will be some inflation relief as well from there. We’re very interested to see what the federal government does. When we can mirror our programs together and when the federal government is listening to our unique situations and circumstances, then we’re better suited to focus our relief measures in where they are needed. When we do a pan rate and give equally to everybody, that might not necessarily be the best way. You have people that are very well off in the Yukon that might not need as much help. Knowing the unique circumstances in every rural community is extremely important. Focusing in and targeting those relief measures is how we have been doing our relief programs, including rebates on home fuel that we have extended. Again, a small jurisdiction with a surplus is half the battle, and having a federal government that can help to augment their federal funding in the proper way is the other half.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: Thank you, premier.
[English]
Senator Richards: Thank you, premier. I was going to ask a question about security and the military, but this conversation has taken another turn. For years, I have been saying that I thought that First Nations should have their own schools and teach their own people because that’s the only way they’ll become a part of the society we live in. I don’t know if that got any traction when I first started writing it in the 1980s, but it might have more now.
Do you think there is any timeline on this in the North or anywhere else? Is that even a possibility?
Mr. Silver: A timeline on First Nations —
Senator Richards: On when enough First Nations teachers are able to teach their own students. When I was growing up, I knew two First Nation teachers, a fellow who became a judge and two who became lawyers. Is it possible to imagine that some day First Nations will be able to teach their own children?
Mr. Silver: That’s a great question, senator. I think it’s happening. It’s really starting to happen in the Yukon. I mentioned earlier how we have obligations to the modern treaty First Nations governments to draw down on things like education. There are certain chapters of the umbrella final agreement that are dedicated to that. That’s the inevitability when it comes to the Yukon. It’s really a model for the rest of Canada in a lot of ways.
Again, I began my teaching career in Dawson, in the traditional territory of the Tr’ondëk Hwëch’in during the first years that they were drawing down. They have done more on education as part of their self-governing agreements, namely, section 17.7, which is specific to education. They have been working on that issue for years. The benefit of that foundational pedagogy has allowed for this. When we came into government, we started really working on recognizing these treaties and getting to a place where, Yukon-wide, there’s an excitement about First Nations-led schools.
It would be obvious if a town like Old Crow were to say we want to have a First Nations school board because the whole community, other than the RCMP officers and maybe a nurse, are all Indigenous for the most part. To get the buy-in of a student in those communities, it makes so much sense. I think about people like Tosh Southwick. In Dawson City, there is Pat McDonald. There are so many amazing, brilliant First Nations educators who can take the lead in those communities and develop curriculum on the land and experiential science; students can learn to hunt and fish. That’s an obvious, inevitable part of the trajectory that we are all on. All of a sudden, there are eight schools, including the Town of Watson Lake, which is not necessarily an Indigenous community; it’s mixed. That is the case for most communities in the Yukon. What we’re seeing now, senator, is a huge benefit not only to the Indigenous people going to Indigenous-led schools but also to anyone going to these schools. The unique perspective of your history is going to be about the history of colonization and First Nations’ history as opposed to the history of King Henry. You are going to have a lot more buy-in for a student who is not looking at their best friend and their best friend is looking at them and seeing lines. They are not trying to figure out whether or not somebody is Indigenous. It doesn’t matter in a lot of communities. It’s just, we’re all in this together.
The benefit of having First Nations-led schools is that you are seeing — and I’ll put money on this — a lot more self-worth being developed in students of all backgrounds, knowing that curriculum is being developed by the people that have been in these lands for thousands of years before colonization.
Senator Richards: Thank you very much.
The Chair: Thank you both. It looks as though our questions are complete. Colleagues, this brings us to the end of our first panel this evening.
The first thing that needs to be said, Premier Silver, is thank you on behalf of this committee for joining us, for your advice and for the sharing of your experience with us this evening. It’s greatly appreciated. Thank you for your honesty and forthrightness in what’s working well and what needs a bit of work and adjustment in terms of the relationship with the agencies and governments that you work with.
Finally, I’m not going to miss the opportunity to thank you for the work that you do for Yukoners every day. I have some appreciation of what these jobs involve, having worked for a couple of premiers. I’m also looking at your staff as I say that. These are difficult jobs. They are tough jobs. You give a lot of yourself. We know that. I know that’s appreciated by your constituents, but you need to hear that from us as well. We can tell from what we have heard today and from the values that you bring to this job that you are doing that and are serving their interests every day. We thank you for that and thank you again for your time this evening.
Mr. Silver: Thank you very much, senator. I very much appreciate the Senate here and this committee. This is extremely important work that you are doing. I’m fascinated to hear about the results of your labours. I’m told from the chair that, hopefully, you’ll be finishing up by June. Of course, you have 120 to 150 days after that for documentation. It’s going to be extremely important. Thank you for the work that you do as well on this committee.
In year one of the pandemic, what we heard right across the whole nation is, “If we get to the other side of this and don’t think of things differently, then we haven’t learned anything.” We’re now, hopefully, at the other end of that period. I think we’re struggling as a nation to come back together to the table. It’s extremely important to have these conversations, especially with folks who are representative of a whole bunch of different political backgrounds. It’s extremely important work to be able to get back to the table, to learn from the pandemic and to start producing again in Canada. That is extremely important. As we take a look to our needs because of international conflict and the global warming of our Arctic areas, this is a huge opportunity, even though it’s scary to see the polar ice caps receding as they are. I think we’re against the clock right now, but I am confident, and I’m even more confident after meeting with amazing allies in Greenland.
We have a huge opportunity when it comes to Canada’s involvement in the solutions for the rest of the world. It’s the hardest, best job of my life to be premier, that’s for sure. I really appreciate your time here listening to the North. Thank you very much.
The Chair: Thank you very much, premier. What a great way to close.
Senators, we will now move to our second panel. First, for those of you joining us live, this meeting is exploring security and defence in the Arctic, including Canada’s military infrastructure and security capabilities. Our focus today is on perspectives from the Yukon Territory.
For the second panel, we welcome from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Superintendent Lindsay Ellis, Criminal Operations Officer, ‘M’ Division in the Yukon; Sean McGillis, Executive Director, Federal Policing, Ottawa; and from the Canada Border Services Agency, Denis R. Vinette, Vice President, Travellers Branch.
Thank you all for joining us today. We invite you to begin by providing your opening remarks, to be followed by questions from our committee members. We’re beginning this evening with remarks from Superintendent Ellis. Over to you, superintendent, whenever you’re ready.
Superintendent Lindsay Ellis, Criminal Operations Officer, ‘M’ Division, Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Good evening, Mr. Chair, distinguished members of the committee, I would like to thank you for the invitation to appear before you and to discuss Arctic sovereignty from a Yukon perspective. My name is Superintendent Lindsay Ellis, and I’m the officer in charge of criminal operations for the Yukon RCMP, known as ‘M’ Division.
I’ve worked in several different roles in the Yukon RCMP for almost a decade, including as the Unit Commander of the Federal Investigations Unit, District Operations Officer and Officer in Charge of Whitehorse Detachment. With me is Mr. Sean McGillis, Executive Director, Federal Policing, Strategic Management, who is here to address any questions on the RCMP’s federal policing mandate.
We would like to begin by acknowledging that the land upon which we are gathered is the traditional unceded territory of the Algonquin Anishinaabeg people.
The Yukon RCMP has a long history of providing policing and security in the North. The Northwest Mounted Police entered the Yukon in 1895 to extend law into the northern frontiers. They also played a role in the Klondike Gold Rush in 1896. This was the first notable foreign interest in the Yukon with the arrival of American gold seekers, and it required border enforcement activity.
In 2022, the Yukon RCMP continues to provide security and safety through our contract with the government of Yukon, to provide policing to Yukoners, along with the First Nations and Inuit policing program to provide enhanced policing to First Nations communities in the Yukon. The uniform frontline members in detachments in the Yukon are the first responders to most northern security and sovereignty issues. The Canada-United States Alaska international border spans just over 1,200 kilometres and consists of five Canada Border Services Agency, or CBSA, and U.S. border patrol ports of entry that are monitored by the local RCMP detachments and the Federal Investigations Unit.
As an example, the Beaver Creek detachment is the most westerly border crossing in Canada and the entry point for Americans transferring into Canada from Alaska. The three-person contract and First Nations policing detachment is the first response for all matters beyond the port of entry, while also providing police service to the White River First Nation. The relationships and security that stem from the 139 members of the Yukon RCMP who provide contract policing service to the Yukon cannot be understated.
The federal policing program is represented by the ‘M’ Division Federal Investigations Unit, which focuses on foreign actor interference, border integrity and national security. This small unit of nine RCMP members is responsible for investigations and outreach on these matters, which require close cooperation and relationships as necessary and appropriate with agencies such as CBSA; the Canadian Security Intelligence Service, or CSIS; U.S. law enforcement, including U.S. border patrol; Yukon government departments and Yukon First Nations governments and communities. The ‘M’ Division Federal Investigations Unit’s mandate is to enhance Yukon security by gathering information and identifying criminal and interference activities that threaten Canada’s economic security, undermine the country’s social cohesion or threaten the integrity of Canada’s critical infrastructure.
Yukon RCMP continues to build relationships with Yukon First Nations governments and communities through meaningful engagements and ongoing efforts to strengthen these relationships to support safety and security. As this committee is aware, the Yukon is unique from the other northern territories in that 11 out of 14 First Nations are self-governing and have economic development interests and investments. Outreach continues with First Nations governments to ensure bilateral communication is open for awareness of foreign actor potential and to encourage local reporting of foreign actor interference, which can be at times under-reported and difficult to detect.
Foreign interest in mining and access to Yukon’s minerals remains high, and it is a risk area that warrants continued monitoring. Despite a recent decline in government interest in foreign mining investments, it has been noted that mining investments are still very much of interest due to high potential for mineral explorations, especially critical minerals in the Yukon.
The population of the territory has grown considerably in the last five years and has reached over 43,000 people. All communities, save for Old Crow, are accessible by road from Alaska and British Columbia, which also speaks to the uniqueness of the Yukon from the other territories, both in policing and in the landscape. Serious and organized crime group activity in the territory, in the Yukon, exposes northern and First Nations populations to increased levels of violence, crime and access to illicit substances. Yukon is anticipating improved low-level satellite wireless capabilities and new fibre technology. Both will enhance and extend the Yukon’s reach within many communities, but will also increase exposure to cyber threats, economic or otherwise.
As such, the ‘M’ Division Federal Investigations Unit and the Yukon RCMP continue to assess vulnerabilities in social cohesion, government, non-government economic and critical infrastructure in the Yukon.
Thank you for the invitation and opportunity to provide further information to this committee on these important priorities of security and sovereignty for the Yukon RCMP.
The Chair: Thank you, Superintendent Ellis, for those opening remarks. We’ll now move to our final witness today, Mr. Denis Vinette.
Denis R. Vinette, Vice President, Travellers Branch, Canada Border Services Agency: Good afternoon and thank you.
With the opening of Canada’s Northwest Passage due to climate change, vessels can now fully traverse the Canadian Arctic from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean. As a result, the Arctic is quickly becoming a destination of choice for travellers, researchers and industry.
In recent years, there has been a notable increase in travellers arriving by cruise ships and private vessels, as well as commercial vessels carrying natural resources mined in the North.
In 2019, there were 117,737 travellers processed in the North, and we anticipate these numbers will continue to increase with the return to pre-COVID travel volumes. This upward trend has put unprecedented pressure on the CBSA to provide more border services in the North.
The CBSA contributes to the government’s mandate in the Arctic by facilitating the passage of people and goods in support of economic growth. The agency also protects Canadians by stopping dangerous goods and people from entering our country.
In the Yukon Territory, the CBSA has five ports of entry: Old Crow, Whitehorse, Beaver Creek, Little Gold Creek and Dawson City. Old Crow is the CBSA’s sole designated reporting site above the Arctic Circle in the Yukon Territory. There’s no road access to Old Crow. All clearances for flights arriving at this location are performed over the Telephone Reporting Centre. The majority of air traffic to Old Crow are First Nations travellers.
Even though cruise ship traffic is increasing, there are no designated cruise ship clearance locations in the Arctic. All clearance of cruise ships involves flying in border services officers to the location where a cruise ship will make its first port of arrival. This is normally in very small communities, such as Clyde River, for cruise ships coming from the east.
[Translation]
Although the CBSA has a well-balanced process for clearing cruise ships, implementing the process in the Arctic requires a great deal of time and resources. Officers from the Ottawa or Winnipeg airport have to meet the cruise ships.
For commercial ships, there is only one designated point of entry, located in Tuktoyaktuk, in the Northwest Territories, and there are none in the Yukon or in Nunavut. Although Tuktoyaktuk is designated as a port for commercial ships, the facilities are not equipped to allow ships to physically enter the port for CBSA examination, due to the frequency of low tides.
Requiring ships to physically report to the closest port of entry can lead to costly two- or four-day delays. Given the significant cost for industry, CBSA implemented the Arctic Shipping Electronic Commercial Clearance program (ASECC) during the summer of 2015.
The program exempts authorized carriers from the requirement to physically report to the closest designated commercial port of entry. It allows marine carriers to transmit data on customs and pre-arrival requirements electronically.
[English]
For non-commercial vessels, the CBSA is also running the Private Vessel Remote Clearance pilot program. This supports the clearance process for certain non-commercial pleasure crafts entering Canada in the Arctic eastern regions. Likewise, the CBSA has also created a new program to help meet the increased demand for clearance of foreign expeditions vessels in the Arctic. Since 2007, there’s been a 200% increase in recorded foreign expeditions in Arctic research events.
The CBSA’s Foreign Expeditions and Arctic Research program coordinates the processing of international research activities taking place in Canada. It offers a single window for foreign expeditions regarding admissibility and other requirements to support their expedition teams.
In conclusion, while the agency has developed a number of Arctic clearance programs to help manage increasing arrivals, it’s essential that the CBSA and its partners are positioned to address future growth in Arctic commerce and travel.
Once again, Mr. Chair, thank you for the invitation today. I’m happy to answer any questions you may have.
The Chair: Thank you very much. That’s very helpful, Mr. Vinette.
Superintendent Ellis, could you please unpack for us the concept of foreign actor interference, classes of things that might constitute foreign acts or interference, just so we have a better sense going in of what that means and what it is?
Ms. Ellis: I will turn to my colleague, Sean McGillis, Executive Director, Federal Policing Strategic Management, to answer that question, Mr. Chair.
Sean McGillis, Executive Director, Federal Policing, Ottawa, Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Thank you, Mr. Chair. In terms of foreign actor interference, what we’re seeing in the North is predominantly focused on foreign direct investment. As Superintendent Ellis mentioned, there is quite an abundance of natural resources in the region, and it is definitely of interest to other countries.
Mr. Vinette also mentioned the opening up of transportation routes. That’s something that is of interest to us from a sovereignty perspective. We want to maintain border integrity and make sure we’re tracking who is doing the research and those types of things, from a foreign interference perspective.
We’re also looking at corruption of officials. That is something we’re starting to look at to ensure that our Inuit and First Nations communities aren’t being unjustly influenced by some of these foreign actors.
It’s early days at this point, but it’s something we’re really putting our minds to from an intelligence perspective on foreign actor interference in the North.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: My questions are for Ms. Ellis. I want to talk about available RCMP human resources to provide service in areas adjacent to the Arctic. For several years, we’ve known that the RCMP is experiencing serious recruitment problems. How much active personnel does the RCMP currently have in those areas, compared to three or five years ago?
[English]
Ms. Ellis: Thank you very much for that question, senator. I can speak for the Yukon RCMP and the human resources that we have assigned and on the complement of the Yukon RCMP. I can’t speak to the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, but I understand this committee attended Nunavut for meetings.
At this time, we’re at full complement in both our contract policing, the Territorial Police Services Agreement, human resources, and also on the federal policing side. As I said in my opening remarks, there are 139 sworn Yukon RCMP members on the contract side, and there are 9 on the federal policing side. They are, of course, supplemented by public service employees who support the operations of the RCMP in many of our locations.
Human resources are a struggle policing-wide across the country and probably in many other industries around public safety, public industry and private industry. I can say we’re at complement in the Yukon. At any given time, though, we’re always managing our human resources. As with most small divisions, any disruption to those human resources, whether it be annual leave, training, leave without pay, any restricted duties or, unfortunately, medical events, can cause a bit of pressure and strain. My colleague Mr. Vinette also spoke to that, about trying to up-staff while also just trying to keep your complement.
I am happy to report that Yukon RCMP has the complement and the folks we need to be doing the job. At any given time, we’re able to move folks into different areas that we may need, as well to keep our public safety obligations and to also keep our obligations to our members and our employees to ensure that they’re well and that they’re safe. Thank you.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: We know that being far away and uprooted is never easy for police officers, but are police officers serving in these areas usually volunteers, or are they there to accumulate seniority and apply for postings elsewhere in the country?
How much personnel turnover do you have to contend with, and what initiatives are in place to ensure that police officers stay in the area as long as possible?
[English]
Ms. Ellis: Thank you very much, senator, for that question. For the Yukon RCMP, we have what I would call low to moderate turnover at any given time. Many members who come to the Yukon volunteer, and they volunteer out of training, out of depot. We are a training division. We do take newer members out of training, but they also volunteer out of their divisions.
The Yukon RCMP ‘M’ Division has some members that have served their entire career there, and they don’t leave. It is an attractive place to be. Many members who come to the North come for the experience of the North rather than building seniority or even, perhaps, a transfer somewhere else in the country. That’s what sets us apart and makes us different from some of the other northern territories.
For example, last year on our succession plan, we perhaps had fewer than five members who left the division. In a year, that’s significant. We don’t have a high turnover in the Yukon RCMP. People who come like to stay, and they also move within the division. They’ll move between the communities or into Whitehorse or into different duties within the Whitehorse headquarters area. Thank you.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: I’d like you to tell us about the nature of criminality in the territories. How different is the fight against criminals? Is your equipment updated enough to deal with criminals, who don’t struggle with equipping themselves to get around the law?
You also talked about criminals in the mining sector, since natural resources are obviously abundant in the area. Could you give us examples of the crimes for which you have had to prioritize your investigations and personnel?
[English]
Ms. Ellis: Thank you for that question, senator. Crime in the Yukon is much like the other northern territories. The crime severity index in the Yukon is high compared to southern provinces. However, violent crime in the Yukon is lower than the other territories. Financial crime, economic crime within the mines and within perhaps just personal frauds, so frauds against persons, are also fairly low. However, the types of economic crime that we see around mines can include cybercrime. It can include hacking bank accounts. Within the last five years we’ve had a situation where industry has been impacted through cyber-threat, cyber-attack and crime — millions of dollars being taken from bank accounts. At times, the banks or sometimes the companies are able to get the money back, but definitely cybercrime is a concern.
You asked a question around specialized technique and some of the equipment that is required and the training that is required by our investigators or our folks to investigate this level of crime. I would say that we’ve made great gains as of late, with support of federal policing and national headquarters, in getting some of the training around crypto-currency, cybercrime, the judicial authorization training that is required to really investigate some of these offences and some of the global awareness that is required for our investigators to do their jobs.
We are also heavily assisted by other divisions who have this expertise. So example, ‘E’ Division, British Columbia has provided assistance to us, ‘D’ Division, Winnipeg, Manitoba has provided assistance, and, of course, national headquarters will provide us with assistance at times as well. Thank you.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: I have a question for Mr. Vinette, along the same lines as the questions for Ms. Ellis, regarding the RCMP.
How do you organize your human resources? Do officers who work in the territories stay there for a long time, or do you have to be proactive to keep them with you?
Mr. Vinette: Thank you for the question. We have 25 staff in the area. For the Little Gold Creek port of entry, four of them work seasonally, and the 21 remaining are permanent. We have a team made up of experienced officers and those who are just starting out. We have a program for recruits coming out of the national college in Rigaud, Quebec. They can choose to go to Beaver Creek and work there for three years.
As my colleague said, they can then apply to return to a detachment of their choice. They give us three choices. They often want to be closer to their family, to avoid a longer-term move. It gives us the chance to bring in people who always have the most recent training. It gives us the chance to attract people who are interested. Some come for their three years and never leave. They love the area, the environment, the wilderness and the type of work that they do.
Attracting people has always been harder in the North, especially for small detachments. But in our region of the Yukon territory, we manage to put the necessary staff in place. For our seasonal port, the four resources I referred to are people who usually come from the Vancouver area. They relocate for the three to four months that the port of entry is open, and then return to their detachment in British Columbia.
Senator Dagenais: With climate change, there will be more and more traffic. You talked about cruise ships and more commercial ships, for instance. Are you planning for more staff to keep up with the predicted increase in marine traffic?
Mr. Vinette: We are working carefully to manage the risk. It’s a matter of determining whether it’s the staff, the process, or pre-emptive risk management. We have examples from Eastern Canada, the Arctic, where the same companies take on minerals and ship them to Europe. We end up by getting to know them; we work very closely with them.
However, for some companies, we must be on site. In those cases, to manage specific arrivals, we send our authorized officers with the required training and they board the cruise or commercial ships. Afterwards, they return to their detachment. The flexibility of our staff allows us to respond to these types of situations.
As for projections, we expect tourism in the Arctic to keep increasing. We will be able to respond to demand, either through staffing, or through customs processing on arrival.
Senator Dagenais: Thank you, sir.
[English]
Senator Richards: Thank you for being here. I have two quick questions. My first one is for Superintendent Ellis. I’m just wondering, are you coordinated with the Canadian Rangers and the Canadian Armed Forces in any special way that you wouldn’t be, for instance, in a smaller community down south?
Ms. Ellis: Thank you for that question, senator. Our relationship with the Canadian Rangers is very close in that most communities around the border and the Arctic areas have an active Ranger unit. With our detachment members, many of the Canadian Rangers are community members as well, along with our detachment members. At times, they’re able to — not in a Ranger capacity — go out on the land with us and help us and teach us about the land. Many of those Rangers are First Nations people who live and are from those communities that we serve in. That time on the land provides a special relationship. It provides a bond and a continuing relationship that not only the Rangers benefit from but the community also benefits from greatly.
I can say with much humility and a lot of gratitude that the community members and the First Nations people, whether in a Ranger contingent or not, assist us greatly and welcome us and our families into their community in the Yukon. That’s also a reason why we stay, to Senator Dagenais’ question. The Yukon is like no other, and that basis of relationship is strong.
Operationally, joint deployments with the Rangers are a little bit more difficult in that the RCMP in the Yukon has oversight of all search and rescue on the land. The Emergency Measures Organization in the Yukon government runs the volunteer sector of that, the Yukon Search and Rescue volunteers, but the RCMP provides leadership to all search and rescue on the land.
Rangers are always trying to come out, whether they’re coming with their red sweatshirts on and in a Ranger capacity or on their own time. If it’s going to be a full Ranger deployment, I’m sure this committee is aware that the RCMP has to exhaust all of our requirements out on the land before we can make a request for assistance from the Rangers.
But I think that the eagerness and willingness of many Canadian Rangers to come out, even on their own time, to an active search and rescue really speaks to their experience on the land and their wish and will for the wellness of all who are in the Yukon.
Senator Richards: And the Armed Forces, ma’am?
Ms. Ellis: The Armed Forces are also in the same boat.
Senator Richards: Of course.
Ms. Ellis: I can’t speak to the complement of how many Canadian Armed Forces members are in the Yukon. We do enjoy a good relationship with those who are posted with the CAF and those in Yellowknife: both the RCMP ‘G’ Division and the military that are based in Yellowknife, as it’s a much larger detachment and posting there.
Senator Richards: Thank you.
I have a quick question for Mr. McGillis or Mr. Vinette. I think you mentioned foreign operatives from other countries who are trying to exploit mineral exploitation, or whatever. I’m wondering how serious that is.
I imagine CSIS would be involved, would understand that and would be looking at that along with any RCMP or other detachment. CSIS would have some kind of handle on that, wouldn’t they? I hope; I do hope.
Mr. McGillis: Yes. Thank you for the question, senator.
Absolutely, we work very closely with CSIS. As Superintendent Ellis mentioned, we work very closely with Joint Task Force North as well, part of the CAF, who has a very strong intelligence operation in the North. Between ourselves, CSIS, Coast Guard and JTF North, we have a pretty good line of sight on any sort of foreign activity that is taking place in the region.
Senator Richards: Has it gotten worse over the last few years? I would assume it has, but I’m asking.
Mr. McGillis: Yes. I guess in terms of “worse,” there is definitely a lot more activity in the region.
Senator Richards: More, yes.
Mr. McGillis: I don’t know if I would characterize it as worse, just increased activity.
Senator Richards: Increased activity. Thank you.
Senator Duncan: Thank you to the witnesses for appearing before us today.
I would like to address the borders and the border crossings and then speak to Superintendent Ellis about the Alaska relationship.
The border crossings in the Yukon — you mentioned Little Gold Creek, which is actually the first in the country to be a shared border service building. There is also Beaver Creek, which is entirely in the Yukon. Pleasant Camp and Fraser would both be included in B.C.’s complement, although they function in and out of the Yukon.
Then, of course, there is the Erik Nielsen Whitehorse International Airport, with the twice-weekly arrival of the Condor jets from Germany.
You mentioned 25 staff in the territories. Perhaps in writing, if you could just tell us where those border crossing staff are located. Where are the 25? Are there five in Nunavut and three in the N.W.T. and whatever in the Yukon? If you could address that.
Then I would like to ask Superintendent Ellis to address the relationship with Alaska and Beaver Creek. You are called upon, as the RCMP, when Border Services are encountering some kind of an issue. What’s the level of cross-border traffic that you are seeing? Has it increased? What sort of things are you called upon to assist with given the Alaska-Yukon border?
Those are my questions.
Mr. Vinette: Five sites, you are correct. Thank you for the question.
Old Crow is cleared through our Telephone Reporting Centre located in Hamilton, Ontario, so no staff on-site there.
Our biggest operations are at Beaver Creek. They see the most volume in any given year. Some of them transit through Canada and head back to the southern states, and some re-enter Alaska through Skagway, so it’s a circular route. It is the most direct route. In some cases, it is the only route. So we have just over ten officers located at Beaver Creek to be able to operate. That is our 24/7 port of entry.
Whitehorse has the airport. It is our second largest. We will have eight to ten individuals there, based on flights. We do adjust for what has happened. We do know that some of those Condor flights are not currently operating. But as they recover, we adjust our staff complement to then commensurately be back to the levels that we require to process.
Little Gold Creek, we send four officers to be able to cycle through the hours over the season. In Dawson City, we have two individuals that operate out of there. Collectively, they make up the mass.
We will move people within the territory if we need to, based on what may be occurring — if we have an event of some sort. If we have to complement, we will send people on assignment from the B.C. Lower Mainland to supplement. We have always had sufficient staff willing to take on a series of assignments, be they short- to medium-term, which has allowed us to kind of adjust based upon what is transpiring.
When we have new, ongoing, sustained volumes, then we look at complementing on a permanent basis.
Senator Duncan: So that 25 you mentioned are stationed in the Yukon?
Mr. Vinette: Yes, correct.
Senator Duncan: Not the territories?
Mr. Vinette: No.
Senator Duncan: Solely the Yukon?
Mr. Vinette: Yes.
Senator Duncan: Superintendent Ellis?
Ms. Ellis: Thank you very much for your question about our relationship with Alaska.
As I said in my opening remarks, Beaver Creek is the most westerly detachment in Canada for the RCMP; it’s also the most westerly port of entry. The hut, as they call it, the border hut for CBSA is on the Yukon side. Then there is a long piece of land in between the U.S. border patrol hut, the port of entry there. Our detachment provides assistance and has engagement daily with the CBSA folks who are there and also with the U.S. border patrol.
You asked a question about what kinds of files and if there is an increase in activity at all. In 2019, across all of the ports of entry, we had approximately 51 files. Those files range from illegal firearms being brought in by, perhaps, Alaskans transiting to the Lower 48 who perhaps don’t have the requisite paperwork that’s required, all the way to just not stopping at the border and failure to check in with one of the ports of entry.
In 2020, the RCMP-reported activity was dropped to almost nothing just due to the pandemic and travel reducing.
In 2021, we have seen a resurgence in activity around the borders, even crime. Recently, someone who was wanted for a homicide in Alaska transited through. We ended up assisting. The RCMP assisted down near Haines, Alaska — so Pleasant Camp — to have that person returned to the United States. There are domestic-type files that happen inland that we respond to. We also assist the actual port of entry. The relationship is very strong.
Our law enforcement relationship with the Alaska State Troopers is very long and very strong. Many folks might not know this, but the Alaska State Troopers fashioned their uniform after the Royal Canadian Mounted Police uniform. To date, we have frequent communication with the State Troopers and any other law enforcement that is in Alaska and enjoy a very good relationship.
Senator Duncan: Senators White and Busson have mentioned to me that prior to the pandemic, Beaver Creek was the site of some of the largest gun smuggling cases, these sorts of issues. Beaver Creek was a real hotspot for border security issues. You have served in the Yukon for more than a decade. Is that your experience as well?
Ms. Ellis: I think Beaver Creek is the busiest. It has the most activity, and there is a lot of transiting through. There are some challenges, of course. We just mentioned the distance between the U.S. border patrol and, of course, the Canadian CBSA. I think many of the investigations that we are engaged in are simply, like I mentioned, people who are trying to transit either north or south, and they don’t have the requisite paperwork to bring prohibited or restricted firearms into Canada to transit through. Occasionally, there are illegal firearms where there was maybe never an intention to have the requisite paperwork, and they are able to come through. When those are located by CBSA staff and employees, the RCMP get involved in that investigation on the inland side, and we work with the CBSA inland investigators, with whom we also enjoy a very good relationship. They are based out of Prince George, British Columbia. That’s who we meet with frequently, and we have frequent conversations with them.
Senator Duncan: Thank you.
Senator Yussuff: My first question, I guess, is to Mr. Vinette.
I want to know with regard to staffing levels, pre-pandemic and currently, where are we at in terms of CBSA staffing? Is it back to the same level as it was pre-pandemic? In that context, I have a couple of follow-up questions, too.
Mr. Vinette: Thank you for the question.
My understanding is that we continue to operate at pre-pandemic staffing levels. Some of our staff were, I’ll say, repurposed from a distance to work on other files and support other operations where it could be done at a distance. I can certainly confirm to the committee that, in fact, that is the case.
Senator Yussuff: If I was coming across any one of the ports of entry in the Yukon, would everyone at the port have internet access so CBSA officers can interface with whoever about the background of individuals, vis-à-vis any issues that we would want to flag to say, “Oh, wait a minute; I’m sure not sure you should be coming into our country?” Maybe you could tell me, because I don’t know. Obviously, some of these are in outposts.
Mr. Vinette: Thank you for the question.
Most of our large locations are hard-wired into our services and have access to all of our systems and our databases. When we do send officers off to, say, a remote clearance, so they are not at an established facility, then, through radio contact we are able to conduct the queries that are required to ensure that we have done the validation and the verification.
I would say we have come a long way in the last 15 years in making sure that those remote communities and those remote operations are connected to our national systems.
Senator Yussuff: Superintendent Ellis, Beaver Creek is a good example. Do we have a holding facility in the event that somebody coming across the border is doing something illegal and shouldn’t be in our country? Could we throw them in detention until we sort out their status? Let’s say they are coming across with issues that make us think they shouldn’t be here. Can we hold them until we can determine their reality, until we determine whether they can leave or whether they are going to stay here until we can send them back across the border?
Ms. Ellis: Thank you for that question, senator.
Beaver Creek detachment has a fully operational cellblock, and our powers to detain under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act allow us to detain folks in our cellblock until it is determined what is going to occur with them.
Usually they are then transited down to Whitehorse and then down to British Columbia for any further detention or holding. It’s a very short-term holding situation at Beaver Creek, but we do have an operable cellblock there.
Senator Yussuff: You talked about how there are people who come to the North, who are not from the North, obviously. Some come wanting to gain experience, and others come and fall in love with the place and never leave. I have been to Whitehorse, both in the winter and the summer, and it’s beautiful. It’s unbelievable, and until you see it, you don’t realize how gorgeous it is.
Is there a big challenge in terms of those people retiring? How are you able to recruit and retain complements of staff, recognizing that the needs will only grow with time? As climate change will change reality, you will have to do more. You will have to police more visitors and tourists coming, which is a good thing, but at the same time, we have to be vigilant in the context of ensuring that people aren’t doing things that might be problematic for our country.
Ms. Ellis: Thank you for that question.
Like I mentioned in a previous response, across the policing universe there is a challenge in recruitment and especially in keeping younger generations interested in a career in policing, especially in places like the North where there are more challenges than there are down south. I think that the eye we have on that is encouraging recruitment out of the Yukon and returning to the Yukon, if individuals wish to do that.
We do have some members in the Yukon who have grown up in the Yukon, such as Yukon First Nations members and First Nations members who are from other northern locations who are now serving in the Yukon and are happy to stay there. Strategically, we need to be looking for the appeal and what the continued appeal is going to be to policing in the Yukon for future generations, not only the appeal of policing in general.
I think at the start of your question you might have asked about the challenges associated with having folks come who, perhaps, have not faced the outdoor challenges or the challenges of weather and being on the land. The Yukon RCMP has a wilderness operations course that is second to none in the RCMP. It is run by the Yukon RCMP with individuals that are long-standing search and rescue members and members with a lot of experience on the land.
Within the first two years of members being posted to the Yukon, we like them to have that training. It’s seven days long. It’s quite intensive. It takes place in the winter, and it is good preparation for operations that members might find themselves in at any given time. It’s just that; it’s preparation. Those skills and the skill building needs to continue as the member works in the Yukon, no matter if they are in Whitehorse or in the outer communities.
The committee would probably appreciate that while we’re on the road system in the Yukon, cell service is an issue. You drive 25 minutes out of Whitehorse and there is no longer cellular service. Even members who are transiting and doing their policing duty in between communities, they need to be self-sufficient in the event that something happens and they are unable to continue on, or if they are stopping to help a motorist or something like that, because the weather can be unexpected, and it can be very difficult.
We are always taking steps to ensure that our folks are trained and that they are continuing to build those skills and that they are able to work in the North and be prepared.
Like I mentioned, on-the-land experience is extremely important, and we’re very grateful and humbled by many community members taking us out on the land and taking us out hunting on our own time. I have gone berry picking in Old Crow. It’s lovely.
But that time spent on the land and that relationship is important for us to be able to survive and also to support the community, the relationship and the safety that needs to happen within the community.
Thank you.
Senator Yussuff: This question may be for both of you, I guess. The North is unique, and there is an Indigenous population that makes up the North. If we’re going to be better as a nation in how we bridge our relationship with the North, we need more Indigenous members participating in border security and in the RCMP.
Have we made strides in recruitment and retention? How are we doing with bringing in people to join forces on both sides to make sure we’re doing our best to try to ensure that in the long term we are going to improve the representation that we have? It is important because of their language, their culture and their understanding of their community, as well as trust. How are we doing overall in recruitment and retention?
Ms. Ellis: Thank you for that question.
It is important to the Yukon RCMP to promote the recruitment, retention, career progression and career happiness of Indigenous people in the RCMP as a whole and the organization. Over the last year or two, some improvements have been nimble, and they have been made at the division level in the Yukon. For example, recently, we have brought into the division an Indigenous female member who is well versed in recruitment, and her role is to go out to the communities and build a connection with Indigenous and First Nations youth to get them exposed to a career in policing. Within the detachments, everyday, daily connection is really important so the youth can see the RCMP as role models but also see the RCMP as a career that is something that could be of interest to them.
Retention is the same. Some improvements have been made. It’s important to note that some First Nations or Indigenous people may not want to come back to the Yukon to work. They might not want to come back to the North to work. They might want to join the RCMP or policing for any other number of career interests, and so I think that’s an important part to also acknowledge, recognize and support. For example, in covert policing, there may be members there who don’t want to leave covert policing or urban municipal policing to come back North and police in the North. But they are happily working in that area and they are progressing in that area, and that promotion of that happiness needs to continue.
I think that we have a long road ahead of us when it comes to ensuring that there is ongoing recruitment, retention and support of First Nations people in policing in general. Improvements are being made, and we are being nimble, especially at the Yukon RCMP level. We are being nimble with that. More work needs to be done there, and there is a way forward.
Mr. Vinette: For the Canada Border Services Agency, when the Fred Caron report came out about Indigenous border crossing issues back in 2017, one of the recommendations was to increase our Indigenous hiring nationally, which is something we have pursued for a long time. I had the pleasure of working in Cornwall, Ontario back in the 1990s, and we had several colleagues of ours from the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve, and you see the tangible benefits of having that workforce.
We have more recently learned that some of the measures that we have put in place will not be helping us, so we have course-corrected. We started by creating an Indigenous affairs secretariat within the agency that now brings some sustained support to everything from recruitment to policy to engagement with First Nations. It’s led us to realize that there are two things that would really, I think, pay dividends.
The first one is something that we heard from our existing Indigenous employees. We have a national poster that says, “I could be deployed anywhere across Canada, but I’m not willing to leave my community.” However, you don’t always have the same circumstances. Some do and some don’t. That was a disincentive for folks to apply. We have adjusted that. We try to do local hiring with local placement so you don’t have to leave your community or family.
The second one was that we now have a national poster for recruitment of Indigenous individuals, and it’s open all year long. Anyone can apply. In support of that recruitment, to ensure there are no barriers to success through the recruitment process, we also pair applicants who are going through the process with existing Indigenous employees and others, to ensure that they are not disadvantaged in any way based on what has been a historical recruitment practises. We truly believe that will help us and will pay dividends. I saw it first-hand. I was at our national college about four weeks ago, at a national graduation, and it was the first time ever that we recruited someone from Nunavut who will be going to the Iqaluit airport. To me, it speaks to small steps in the right direction. We’re going to do all we can to make sure we sustain that.
Senator Duncan: I wanted to ask Mr. McGillis about foreign direct investment in the Yukon Territory. There are a number of real estates, all privately held, for example, and placer mining claims are also privately held. When they are sold, whose role is it to monitor to whom they are sold and the level of what might be foreign or Canadian investment?
Mr. McGillis: Thank you for the question. I would have to say it’s a shared responsibility for those foreign direct investments. Whenever there is something flagged that may be of concern, it’s a joint effort between ourselves, CSIS, Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada and Public Safety as well. Everybody contributes and takes part in the national security review process in order to make a determination as to whether or not there are national security considerations for any of those foreign direct investments.
Senator Duncan: This would be a private sale, so it may not come to your attention unless, perhaps, through the RCMP.
Mr. McGillis: Even if they are private transactions, they would, in certain cases, be brought to our attention through the financial institutions who have an obligation to report some of these things. One of the challenges we’re trying to work out some solutions for is beneficial ownership: who actually owns the corporation, who is making the investment and where it is going. I don’t want to say it’s a loophole at the moment, but it is one of the shortcomings in our system that allows for foreign direct investment to maybe take place when it shouldn’t be taking place.
Senator Duncan: I think that’s probably an open banking question for the banking committee.
Is there an issue with human trafficking, given the large border? Perhaps Ms. Ellis would like to answer that question.
Ms. Ellis: I would say that human trafficking is always an issue. I wouldn’t say that we are seeing a huge amount of activity of reported human trafficking cases. But, like foreign actor interference, it’s often unrecognized, undetected and under-reported. Given that we have close proximity to the border with Alaska and the frequent flights that are going between Bellingham, Washington, and California into Anchorage, there is the ability for human trafficking. The monitoring of that takes place through our Federal Investigations Unit.
Senator Duncan: There was a recent report of Russians seeking asylum in Alaska. Would that also be brought to your attention because of the close relationship, or is it just monitored in the news like everywhere else? Would Canadian Border Services Agency or the RCMP be made aware of that, or is it just through the news like everyone else?
Ms. Ellis: The intelligence sharing or the overt investigative sharing that takes place depends on what type of activity it is. There are intelligence briefings that are provided, that go around with the Alaska State Troopers, the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and our national headquarters. We would find out something like that in an investigative briefing in an overt way, not only through the media.
Senator Duncan: Do you have regular briefings?
Ms. Ellis: Yes, and the information flows fairly fluidly even in between briefings.
Senator Duncan: I believe that would be an important point for the report, chair. Thank you very much.
[Translation]
Senator Dagenais: Mr. Vinette, how do the screening technologies you mentioned compare — and how can we compare them — with those used by the Americans, for instance, who have access to Alaska?
Mr. Vinette: My answer is that we have access to all of our systems in our ports of entry, and we have some centres operating 24/7. Our national operations centre is there to support officers if ever a problem comes up, if systems don’t work, staff can call our national centre. The quality of those systems and access to them are on the same level as what we see with our American colleagues, on the other side of the border.
Senator Dagenais: Thank you, Mr. Vinette.
[English]
The Chair: One last question from me. Our agreement is to look at security and defence in the Arctic, writ large. I’m just going to throw out this question to you. As you’ve thought about this study and the work we have to do and the recommendations we might make, is there anything that you are hoping to see in our report or our recommendations that you would want to leave with us this evening? If you haven’t thought about that, that is understandable, but if you have, or something occurs to you now, is there something that you would love to see in this report when it is completed, in terms of an observation or a recommendation?
Senator Richards: Better internet service, perhaps?
The Chair: These guys have got lots of good ideas. I’ve probably caught you a little bit off-guard, but if there’s anything top of mind, just tell us.
Ms. Ellis: Mr. Chair, I am very thankful and grateful for the invitation to be here today to speak about the Yukon perspective to this committee and for the work that you’re doing. Having a recognition of the Yukon and the other northern territories — some of the amazing opportunities but also the challenges — highlighted in your report is something that I would like to see. I would like to see an observation or a recommendation that this recognition be continued. I would like to see a continued focus on the North and a continued focus on the people and the land, as well as the security and the sovereignty of the North — continued focus on the importance of that. Thank you.
The Chair: Thank you.
Anything else to add, from your colleagues?
Mr. McGillis: I would add the same. When we’re looking at what is happening in the North from a federal policing perspective, through the most serious criminality, we should be highlighting, as Superintendent Ellis said, the importance of the North and the people. All of us in the national security space should be forced to truly turn our minds to what climate change means and what sovereignty looks like for Canada in the North. We have to give some serious consideration about increasing our footprint and really starting to look at the North from a different perspective than we have over the past several decades.
The Chair: Thank you.
With that, I want to thank you on behalf of our committee members here for joining us and bringing us those perspectives today. This is what you leave with us, so I think you’ve been very successful in highlighting those things, and we appreciate that. We’re grateful for those who have travelled to be with us today and for sharing your insights and your extensive experience and giving us a sense of the North and particularly Yukon issues from your perspective.
We cannot let you leave without thanking you for the work that you do every day on behalf of Yukoners and Canadians. That’s deeply appreciated. I know you hear it; you probably don’t hear it enough, but you’re hearing it from me on behalf of all of us tonight and also those senators who are not here and on behalf of Canadians.
Thank you very much. This has been a lovely conversation, and we appreciate it.
Colleagues, our next meeting will take place next Monday, December 12, 2022, at our usual time of 4 p.m. EST. With that, I wish everyone a good evening and safe travels.
(The committee adjourned.)