Latest news with #GoldRushInn
CBC
29-03-2025
- Business
- CBC
New Arctic security institute encourages diplomacy with the U.S. on northern defence
Social Sharing The public launch of the Canadian Institute for Arctic Security on Thursday provided some baseline information on northern defence — and highlighted the need for continued relations with the U.S. military amid current political tensions. The Yukon-based institute, which received $300,000 from Ottawa last November, hosted "Conference Zero" at the Gold Rush Inn in Whitehorse. Speakers represented the Canadian Security Intelligence Service and other federal agencies, as well as the U.S. Consulate. The institute is a Yukon government project, although its mandate is to eventually separate from government and establish itself as an independent think-tank. It's steered by the premier and a development board representing the federal government, Council of Yukon First Nations and Yukon University. Premier Ranj Pillai said the institute will bring decisions about Arctic security — and related infrastructure investments — to the local level. During his remarks to the conference, Pillai conceded that Arctic security discussions run parallel with heightening political tensions between Canada and the U.S. He recalled a "chilling" recent meeting between Canadian premiers and the U.S. deputy chief of staff in Washington, D.C. "The first comment was, 'Your problems will go away if you become the 51st state,'" Pillai said — arresting all hope for a congenial conversation about new trade opportunities. Despite this, the Canadian North still has a working relationship with the U.S. on defense, Pillai said. The institute itself is modelled after the Ted Stevens Centre for Arctic Security Studies in Anchorage, Alaska. Andrew Smith, intergovernmental relations officer with the Yukon government, is the project lead and sole coordinator for the Canadian Institute for Arctic Security. He said they have maintained a positive relationship with their counterparts in Alaska despite political tensions. "They [at the Stevens Centre] know that having these conversations, getting people together, building leadership together, is going to benefit us on both sides," Smith said. "Regardless of external factors — things have to outlast that." U.S. Consul General spoke on strengthening cross-boundary relationships U.S. Consul General Jim Dehart, whose consular district includes B.C. and the Yukon, spoke at the conference. Dehart declined to speak at length about the Trump administration, but offered one piece of advice: "Take [the president] at face value. Take what he says seriously, even take it literally, and go from there." The U.S.'s national strategy for the Arctic, which was introduced in 2022 and drafted plans for defence and environmental protections, went out with the previous administration, Dehart said. The Trump administration will eventually write its own plan. Dehart said his office still wants to strengthen cross-border relationships, like the one between the Yukon and Alaska, and to continue to approach defence diplomatically. "I think to be most effective, we need the utmost collaboration with Canada," Dehart said. "Personally, I want that to be seamless. It's pretty important." Dehart also criticized Canada's spending on NATO. "It's trending in the right direction, but quite honestly, Canada has a ways to go," he said. Arctic facing 'unprecedented number of threats': CSIS Nicole Giles addressed the conference on behalf of the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). Giles said the Arctic is facing an unprecedented number of threats. "Quite frankly, they are beginning to overwhelm our capacities to confront alone," Giles said. Giles said there's a broad range of threats, from foreign interference to violent extremism and cyber attacks. He added that those threats are targeting all levels of government, from the territorial level to First Nations governments and even school councils. "The bottom line, from our perspective, is that national security is no longer the sole domain of the federal government," Giles said. "Those attending this conference may be targets of national security threats, but you're also part of the solution."
CBC
25-02-2025
- Politics
- CBC
Candlelight vigil to be held in Whitehorse to mark 3 years of war in Ukraine
Social Sharing The Ukrainian Canadian Association of the Yukon is holding a candlelight vigil in Whitehorse on Tuesday to mark three years since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. "It's coming together, standing strong and being around each other and knowing that with unity there is strength," said Lesia Hnatiw, a board member with the association. The vigil will take place outside of Whitehorse City Hall at 6 p.m. followed by a presentation from the association at the Gold Rush Inn at 7 p.m. Members of the association will be sharing their experiences from their most recent humanitarian mission to Ukraine in November 2024. Hnatiw says the vigil will be both an act of solidarity with Ukraine and a demonstration to call on political leaders to do more to support Ukraine. The association decided to hold the vigil on Tuesday – the day after the three-year anniversary of the war – so it would not conflict with the city council meeting on Monday. The association hopes to see the mayor and councillors at the vigil, supporting Ukraine. "I encourage people to bring Ukrainian flags, to make signs," Hnatiw said. "These are images that people in Ukraine will see." Hnatiw says the last few weeks have brought a lot of uncertainty, after U.S. President Donald Trump refused to blame Russia for the war, splitting from European allies. "He's gone as far as to pressure Ukraine to retract statements in the U.N. with regards to actually identifying Russia as the aggressor and starter of this genocidal war in Ukraine," Hnatiw said. "It's pretty clear that the United States is trying to pressure Ukraine into an agreement, a peace agreement that is not really about peace." Hnatiw hopes Trump's recent rhetoric about making Canada the 51st state will help Canadians relate to what has been happening in Ukraine. "It will help some people who don't quite understand that feeling of having something threatened like your statehood, your nation being threatened by someone else. And now multiply that by a gazillion, what's happening in Ukraine." Spreading message of hope Anastasiya Matlashevska is the vice president of Ukrainian Canadian Association of the Yukon. She was born in Ukraine, but has been living in the Yukon for over a decade. She says she never imagined a war like this happening in her lifetime. "Three years ago when the war started, nobody could believe it. Back then, nobody in their scariest thoughts would think that this war would last so long," Matlashevska said. "It's still important to remind the world that it's still happening. People still live their lives and they go to work and kids go to school. People adapt to a cruel reality there." Tuesday evening's vigil will serve as a reminder that the war is ongoing, but will also offer a message of hope. Kateryna Osypova will be speaking at the vigil. She left her home in northern Ukraine just days before the war began. Now she lives in the Yukon, while her family remains in Ukraine. "It's difficult all the time. It's difficult to wake up, it's difficult to go to sleep, and again, like, it's every second, I know my family is in danger," Osypova said. At the vigil, Osypova says she wants to lift up others whose families are in danger or who fled the war themselves. "I want to cheer up, to support people who are there because it's not the worst scenario that I have," she said. "I still have my family, I still have my hometown, most people came to the Yukon because they were running from the war. I need to tell those people that we need to have hope." Matlashevska says showing support from afar is appreciated by the people she knows in Ukraine.
