APTN's Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs talks Operation Nanook

As APTN’s North West Territories videojournalist, Charlotte Morritt-Jacobs is used to telling stories in frigid temperatures. On this week’s episode of InFocus, she shares her front-row-seat experience of Canada’s annual Arctic military exercise, Operation Nanook. “I was able to go to Edzo, which is about 100 kilometres west of Yellowknife, with the Grizzly Task Force, which was primarily troops from Edmonton and Alberta, up here for exercises in securing critical infrastructure, such as our hydro station in Yellowknife,” Morritt-Jacobs said on InFocus. Canada has been running Operation Nanook since 2007. But with rising geopolitical tensions, the exercise has taken on a new meaning. This year’s operation was the largest to date. It saw up to 1,300 Canadian Armed Forces (CAF) members, alongside allies from the United States, Belgium, France and Denmark, deployed across Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. It’s an exercise in withstanding -50 degree Celsius temperatures and military defence. As Lt. Col. Bryn Wright of the Task Force Grizzly told Morritt-Jacobs, troops are trained to crawl, then walk, and then run. “Speaking some of the signal officers, they knew it was cold, but they didn’t realize how cold it would be for communication gear, for drones, how fast they would need to work and the contingency plans that would need to be in place,” Morritt-Jacobs said. During Operation Nanook, Canadian Rangers with deep ties to and knowledge of the land help troops build resilience in Arctic climates. Across Canada, about a quarter of Canadian Rangers identify as First Nations, Métis or Inuit. But in the Arctic, that number is significantly higher. As the Canadian military expands its presence in the Arctic, Morritt-Jacobs said building and maintaining relationships with the people who call it home will be crucial. “Partnerships are critical, especially going into places that are remote and have limited resources,” Morritt-Jacobs said. “It was explained to me that whenever the Canadian military goes into these communities, their objective is not to deplete the resources of already finite services.” But as Canada continues to mobilize the language of “Arctic sovereignty”, who is included in that definition? “There is already sovereignty that’s built into the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement. Sovereignty over water [has] been supported by use and occupancy since time immemorial,” Morritt-Jacobs said. “If that were to dissolve, and Inuit, say, withdrew that support, Canada would not have claim to the Northwest Passage. They wouldn’t have that historic title over the 70 per cent that is Canada’s coastline that’s in the Arctic.” “So, as much as there’s been more support for Arctic sovereignty through the Canadian military, that sovereignty exists because of the fact that it’s on traditional territory of Indigenous peoples.” Read Charlotte’s stories on Operation Nanook: Part One & Part Two.   Report an Error Tell us your Story Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.Your Name *Your Email Address *Details *CommentSubmit Report Tags: Arctic, Canadian Armed Forces, military, National, Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Operation Nanook, Yukon Author(s) Cierra Bettens [email protected] More Stories Single mother from Inukjuak to make heartbreaking decision... 1 hour ago By Stéphanie de Sève First Nations student who was reportedly assaulted in rura... 2 hours ago By Emma Honeybun First Nation leaders from Saskatchewan travel to England t... 3 days ago By Leanne Sanders Reintegration centre aims to remove barriers for Indigenou... 3 days ago By Leanne Sanders Friendship centres in Quebec brace for federal, provincial... 3 days ago By Jesse Staniforth Audit finds ‘serious gaps’ in Yukon’s child welfare ... 3 days ago By Sara Connors