Finding a new way to fund the full participation of northern indigenous groups with Permanent Participant status at the Arctic Council in all of the organizations working groups and activities should be a top priority when Canada takes the chair of the influential inter-governmental organization next year.

By Cooper, John Our country is in a race to reinforce its claim to the north. It's not only a question of sovereignty, but economics, the rights of indigenous peoples, and a fragile environment. You might call it the upside of the downside.

A Coast Guard reconnaissance team is heading to the far north this week to scope out a new frontier that the warming Arctic climate is opening to ship traffic.

By Matthew L. Wald and Andrew C. Revkin Andrew C. Revkin reported from New York. * For much of human history, the Arctic Ocean has been an ice- locked frontier. But now, in one of the most concrete signs of the effect of a warming climate on government operations, the U.S.

By ROB GILLIES By Rob Gillies The Associated Press TORONTO Canada's prime minister announced plans Friday for an army training center and a deepwater port on the third day of an Arctic trip meant to assert sovereignty over a region with potentially vast energy resources.