OTTAWA -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper packs his bags this weekend for a tour of the Arctic.
Making a swing through the North has become an annual ritual for the prime minister; next week's trip is his seventh multi-day visit.
He'll be stopping in the Northwest Territories, the Yukon, Nunavut and northern Manitoba.
Once there, he'll be observing the military's summer Arctic exercise called Operation Nanook.
The prime minister's trip is expected to be a mix of new announcements and promotion of old contributions.
But the Opposition NDP say the Conservatives haven't gone far enough when it comes to helping the North cope with the cost of living and resource development.
