On 26 February 2026 Public Safety Canada announced C$14 million in new funding to modernize ground search-and-rescue (SAR) capabilities across the Arctic. Speaking at the Université de Sherbrooke, Parliamentary Secretary Anthony Housefather said the money will finance satellite-enabled tracking beacons, cold-weather survival equipment and a bilingual incident-command training programme for volunteer SAR units in Nunavut, Northwest Territories and the northern regions of Québec and Labrador.
The investment is a response to a 2025 Transportation Safety Board review that flagged rising incidents involving business travellers operating ice roads and fly-in/fly-out crews servicing mining and telecom sites. With climate change altering ice thickness and traditional navigation cues, evacuation times have lengthened, placing non-resident workers at greater risk.
For organizations dispatching foreign specialists to these high-latitude worksites, having the right travel documents in hand is just as critical as emergency gear. VisaHQ’s Canadian portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) streamlines visa, work-permit and eTA processing for both individual contractors and corporate mobility teams, allowing companies to track document status alongside the new “Travel Safe North” registry and ensuring that deployments proceed without bureaucratic delays.
![Canada Funds Arctic Ground Search-and-Rescue Upgrades to Protect Remote Travellers]()
Key components include: (1) 1,200 personal locator beacons to be issued through employers under a new ‘Travel Safe North’ registry; (2) deployment of Starlink-backed broadband kits at 18 SAR staging areas; and (3) funding for Indigenous-language interpreter rosters to improve coordination during multi-jurisdiction rescues.
For mobility managers, the upgrades mean faster response times and potentially lower insurance premiums for rotational staff. Companies will be required to register itineraries exceeding 50 km from established communities; failure to do so may affect eligibility for emergency-response cost recovery. Public Safety Canada will open an employer briefing portal in March.
The programme complements ongoing investments in Arctic runway resurfacing and CBSA remote-processing trials, reinforcing Ottawa’s strategy to make northern resource corridors safer and more attractive to international capital and talent.
The investment is a response to a 2025 Transportation Safety Board review that flagged rising incidents involving business travellers operating ice roads and fly-in/fly-out crews servicing mining and telecom sites. With climate change altering ice thickness and traditional navigation cues, evacuation times have lengthened, placing non-resident workers at greater risk.
For organizations dispatching foreign specialists to these high-latitude worksites, having the right travel documents in hand is just as critical as emergency gear. VisaHQ’s Canadian portal (https://www.visahq.com/canada/) streamlines visa, work-permit and eTA processing for both individual contractors and corporate mobility teams, allowing companies to track document status alongside the new “Travel Safe North” registry and ensuring that deployments proceed without bureaucratic delays.
Key components include: (1) 1,200 personal locator beacons to be issued through employers under a new ‘Travel Safe North’ registry; (2) deployment of Starlink-backed broadband kits at 18 SAR staging areas; and (3) funding for Indigenous-language interpreter rosters to improve coordination during multi-jurisdiction rescues.
For mobility managers, the upgrades mean faster response times and potentially lower insurance premiums for rotational staff. Companies will be required to register itineraries exceeding 50 km from established communities; failure to do so may affect eligibility for emergency-response cost recovery. Public Safety Canada will open an employer briefing portal in March.
The programme complements ongoing investments in Arctic runway resurfacing and CBSA remote-processing trials, reinforcing Ottawa’s strategy to make northern resource corridors safer and more attractive to international capital and talent.
