This workshop explored borders, security, and security management with particular attention to the unique features of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic region in Canada and the United States. It examined how border integrity and regional security were envisioned through the lens of national policy and practice, and asked how well these fit with regional security needs. What is the impact of existing security practice? What works? What does not?
This workshop examined security issues from various perspectives and agencies and at various scales. It identified ways in which regional needs can be better identified and met, and where security policies and practices could be better understood in relation to local communities, agencies and governance.
The workshop was by invitation only, and took place at Yukon College, Whitehorse. Participants included government agency representatives, NGOs, local government and community representatives, security experts, scholars, and students.
JUNE 20
The first panel was The Big Picture: Arctic Security and National Security with chair Heather Nicol (Trent University). It featured speakers Christian Leuprecht (Royal Military College), Randy Kee (USAF – Ret) & Maj Gen (Arctic Domain Awareness Center Executive Director, University of Alaska), Evan Travers (Public Safety Canada), and Inuuteq Olsen Holm (Minister Plenipotentiary at the Greenland Representation at the Danish Embassy in Washington, DC).
The second panel was The Arctic Region and US Security Interests with chair Whitney Lackenbauer (St. Jerome’s University). It featured speakers Leslie Lawson (DHS Attaché to Canada, US Embassy, Ottawa), Margaret Stock (Cross- Border Law Offices, Anchorage, Alaska), David Martin (Deputy Director for Plans and Policy, Alaskan Command), and Claude E. Denver (Response Manager, State Emergency Operations Center, Alaska Department of Military and Veterans Affairs)
The third panel was The Arctic and Canadian Security Interests with chair Christian Leuprecht (Royal Military College). It featured speakers Adam Lajeunese (Saint Francis Xavier University), Whitney Lackenbauer (St. Jerome’s University), and Ryan Dean (University of Calgary).
The fourth panel was Border Integrity and Human Security in Regional and Local Context with chair Leslie Lawson (DHS). It featured speakers Heather Nicol (Trent University), Rob Hynes (USCG D17), Superintendent Brian Jones (Criminal Operations, M Division), John Mitchell (Sgt. Canadian Rangers, Confirmed), and Will Greaves (University of Toronto).
JUNE 21
The first panel was Security and Border Policy: National versus Regional Perspectives with chair Whitney Lackenbauer (St. Jerome’s University). It featured speakers Steve Myers (Director, Arctic Caucus, Pacific Northwest Economic Region – PNWER), Mike Perry (Trent University, School for the Study of Canada), Karen Everett (Trent University), Justin Barnes (Trent University Student), and Dr. James R. Hemsath (DM, PE, PMP, Director – Project Development and Asset Management, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority – SKYPE).
The second panel was Indigenous Communities and International Boundaries with chair Norman Easton. It featured speakers Chief David Johnny (White River First Nation), Dalee Sambo Dorough (Professor, University of Alaska), Robin Campbell (Hutchins Legal, Ottawa), Greg Boos (Cross-Border Law, Bellingham WA), and Chris Jackson (Royal Military College).
At lunch there was a keynote titled No Border Line Here? The Imaginary Divide Between Alaska and North America, presented by Terrence Cole (University of Alaska).
This workshop was co-sponsored by:
Borders in Globalization
Trent University
Yukon College
Royal Military College of Canada
St.Jerome’s University
The Consulate General of the United States (Toronto)
SSHRC
