This story was included in our November 2023 issue, devoted to some of the best writing The Walrus has published. You’ll find the rest of our selections here.
Direct, unsparingly honest, and delivered with her signature wit, Mary Simon’s 2007 essay on Arctic sovereignty lays out Canada’s failings in the North. While many of the details have changed, her argument still holds up: the government isn’t doing enough. There continues to be a shortage of affordable, good-quality housing. The Nanisivik Naval Facility, an Arctic deepwater port announced in 2007, is expected to open in 2025, more than a decade behind schedule. Meanwhile, the effects of the climate crisis and security threats caused by competing geopolitical interests have become more acute.
