Arctic treaty, protection central to Greens' northern strategy

The Green party would work out an Arctic maritime treaty and call for part of the region to be protected from mineral exploration.

Green party Leader Elizabeth May was in Whitehorse on Friday to release the party's northern strategy, which "commits to helping the North realize its true potential as a healthy and prosperous region within a strong and sovereign Canada," she said in a release.

Under the strategy, the Greens would go through the Arctic Council to negotiate a multilateral treaty that would regulate all maritime activity in the Arctic, with exceptions made for traditional aboriginal marine activity.

The Greens would push for the Arctic Council to serve as the primary forum for resolving Arctic territorial disputes between nations.

The party's strategy also calls for an Arctic protected zone to be created and recognized internationally, barring any country from allowing any mineral exploration within that zone.

The Arctic protected zone would be similar to a protected area that's recognized internationally in the Antarctic, according to the strategy, which also calls for more funding for Arctic research, as well as the support and recognition of traditional aboriginal knowledge.

May was in Whitehorse to unveil her strategy on the same day Prime Minister Stephen Harper visited the Yukon as part of his five-day tour of Canada's North.

Harper's tour, which began Monday in Iqaluit, featured a series of announcements related to economic development and Arctic sovereignty.

The prime minister was in the Nunavut capital earlier this week to observe Operation Nanook, the Canadian military's annual sovereignty exercise in the eastern Arctic.