Artifact #4: A Transcript of a Parliamentary Debate on High Arctic Security

Citation:

Canada. House of Commons Debates, 11 February, 1953 (Hon. G. M. Murray).

Label:

The record is a transcript from the parliamentary debate on February 11, 1953 in which Hon. G. M. Murray, an MP from Northern B.C., advocates for rapid population of northern Canada in light of defence concerns arising from the Korean War.  Murray goes as far as to liken the area North of Edmonton to Canada’s, “Maginot line” (the infamous French defence line which was easily circumvented by Nazi invaders), while echoing the prevalent American concern that Northern Canada could serve as an undefended gateway for a communist invasion of the continent.  Whether or not the motivations behind the High Arctic Relocation were militaristic in nature is hotly debated, as those involved insist that the intentions of the relocations were out of desire to advance Inuit prosperity.  Nonetheless, the overwhelming amount of evidence that has emerged pointing to the mid-century government’s desire to populate the North have called this interpretation into question.  Likely, the decision to relocate Inuit families to Northern regions of the country was motivated by several factors in conjunction.  What remains relatively undisputed however, is that the establishment of civilian populations of the High North was and continues to benefit Canadian sovereignty in the region.

Bibliography:

Privy Council Office. High Arctic Relocation: International Norms and Standards. By Russel L. Barsh. Catalogue no. Z1-1991/1-41-3E. Ottawa, ON: Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2016/bcp-pco/Z1-1991-1-41-3-eng.pdf