The military doesn’t know what “sufficient Arctic presence” would look like because it doesn’t know what threats it should be ready to resist, according to a new internal evaluation of the Canadian Forces’ Arctic operations. Meanwhile, its far northern facilities are on the verge of rusting out, its branches have splintered ideas about what they’re supposed to do there and it relies on allied countries to even keep tabs on the region. (The Logic)

Talking point: The Arctic holds strategic importance for Canada as a critical mineral hub and as a potential shipping route. Russia and China may have long-term designs on it, and contributing to defending the region could bolster Canada’s NATO commitments and defence spending targets, the Business Council of Canada argued in a recent report. Canada signed onto a NATO pledge to improve security in the North last month, but the defence report underscores the scale of the challenge ahead.