Prince Edward-Hastings M-P Daryl Kramp’s controversial bid to rename the country’s Arctic sea route the “Canadian Northwest Passage” has passed almost unanimously in the Commons.
It was a surprising result after Inuit leaders and opposition MPs argued the renaming process initially lacked input from the North’s aboriginal inhabitants.
But an amendment to Kramp’s private member’s bill promising recognition of an additional Inuktitut name for the disputed waterway appears to have allayed concerns, allowing all M-P’s to support the symbolic boost to Canada’s Arctic sovereignty.
Just one M-P abstained from voting on the proposal, and Kramp, who missed the vote because he is in China for Prime Minister’s Harper, says he is very pleased with the outcome.
