Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier ended his visit to Canada on Wednesday in the Northwest Territories, where he traveled to Tuktoyaktuk with Canada’s Governor General, Mary Simon.

The President and his wife Elke Büdenbender were greeted by the NWT Commissioner upon their arrival at Yellowknife Airport on Wednesday morning.Margaret Thom, Deputy Mayor Stacie Smith and Ndilo Dene First Nation Chief Fred Sangris.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier then accompanied Governor General Mary Simon to a tour of the Joint Task Force (North) military base and to a meeting with senior officials. Outside, strikers from the Union of the Public Service Alliance of Canada formed a picket line as part the nationwide strike affecting more than 150,000 federal employees.

The two dignitaries and their spouses then traveled further north to Tuktoyaktuk to meet with Aboriginal leaders and community members.

At Tuktoyaktuk, they visited the shoreline to see the effects of climate change and homes that had to be relocated due to coastal erosion. You could also call a traditional mud hut igluryuaq in Inuvialuktun. This type of house is built of tidewood covered with earth. The dignitaries also visited a cold room dug into the permafrost in 1963 to store meat and fish.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Mary Simon also attended a presentation on the Smart Ice Project, which combines traditional knowledge with modern ice monitoring technology, as well as dog sled racing and ice fishing demonstrations.

They ended their stay in Tuktoyaktuk by attending a community event at Kitti Hall before returning to Yellowknife.

Defense and Security Partner

The Standing Committee on National Defense recently published a report on arctic security and sovereignty, consisting of 26 recommendations for the federal government. These include accelerating the recruitment of new Canadian Forces, developing a modernization plan for Arctic forward theaters, and working with territorial and indigenous governments to ensure Arctic military infrastructure benefits the people who live there.

Germany and Canada work together as long-standing partners on security and defense issues in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and are both members of the G7 and G20, the Organization for Cooperation and Economic Development and the World Trade Organization.

The Canada-Germany High-Level Steering Group on Bilateral Cooperation was established in 2021 to strengthen ties between the two countries. It brings together senior officials from the Canadian and German governments to discuss issues related to peace and security, climate change, energy and natural resources, innovation, digitization and business.

In March and May 2022, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed to work together to drive the introduction and expansion of carbon pricing, and the two countries signed the G7 Hydrogen Action Compact.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier arrived in Ottawa on Sunday, where he attended a reception hosted by the German ambassador, where he spoke about the importance of liberal democracies.

On Tuesday he visited the fuel cell company Cellcentric in Burnaby and Vancouver, British Columbia, and participated in a roundtable with Canadian and German business people.

The President left Yellowknife for Germany on Wednesday evening.

With information from The Canadian Press