Environmental degradation in the Russian north: a security threat to Canada?

This thesis examines the expansion of the concept of security to include environmental threats. Contrary to conventional opinion the expansion of security can take place not only in terms of global security, but also national security. In order to demonstrate this, the thesis studies the threat posed to Canada from environmental degradation in the Russian North. This study includes not only an analysis of the threats that exist to Canada, but also an examination of the Canadian governments' responses to these threats. The analysis demonstrates that in most cases the Canadian government has failed to properly identify and properly address these environmental threats and thus there is a need for a re-evaluation of the scope of national security.