– as long as committed means not actually doing more than visiting the place.

The timetable for a planned snap election is expected to be in place later this week when the cabinet planning committee chaired by the Prime Minister travels north to merge campaign planning with a repeat of the Conservative government’s message that it is committed to guaranteeing Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.

But that commitment will be more difficult to express following a late Friday evening decision by Ottawa to scrap a near $3-billion upgrade essential to keeping Canadian warships at sea.

 

[…..]

 

It will be Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s fourth trip north in three years as he seeks to cement his “use it or lose it” ethos about Canada’s role in the Arctic. David Emerson, the foreign affairs minister, said Sunday that Canada has detected an increase in Russian aircraft buzzing Canadian airspace.

But with the Conservatives framing the Prime Minister’s trip as dual purpose – to plan the election and to show strength and commitment to all parts of sovereign Canada, Mr. Harper will likely face sharp questions over the cancellation of a $2.9-billion plan to build three support ships for the Canadian Navy and the purchase of 12 mid-shore patrol vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard. The support ship project was touted as essential for keeping the overstretched Canadian navy at sea, and the mid-shore vessels were expected to have been used for patrolling the Arctic.

 

(emphasis mine)

So the much touted ice breakers that morphed themselves into patrol vessels have now morphed into a cancellation that can sit beside the aging fleet of 1970 Twin Otters that are standing on guard for us - gee….. how surprised am I?

As I said only yesterday

But take heart dear reader, word has it that there may be an election coming this fall, and once again Harper, and indeed all the leaders of the main political parties, will dust off their “Arctic Sovereignty” rhetoric and once again tell you how they, unlike the other guystm who talk a good game but don’t actually do anything, really mean business, and will address this important issue as soon as you make them Prime Minister.

The only difference folks, is the colour of their ties.