Prime Minister Stephen Harper unveiled a new northern development program Tuesday and touted the North's seal hunt, but his message was sidetracked by an unfortunate typo and continued fallout from a distressing photo.

On Tuesday, Harper introduced the Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, which the government says will be responsible for administering federal initiatives and infrastructure programs in the region.

Called CanNor, the agency will be headquartered in Iqaluit, but will also have regional offices in Yellowknife and Whitehorse. It will be backed by a five-year, $50-million budget.

Harper and his cabinet ate seal meat for lunch, but in an apparent effort to avoid any international controversy, did so behind closed doors.

Photos of Gov. Gen. Michaelle Jean eating a raw slice of seal heart earlier this year set off an angry reaction in Europe, where Canadian seal products were recently banned.

Speaking to CTV News Channel, Indian and Northern Affairs Minister Chuck Strahl called the seal meat "fair fare," and said the prime minister enjoyed it.

"People gave him the heads-up that he might not like it . . . but I must say, he enjoyed it," he said. "It was very good."

Harper defended the hunt as important for the northern way of life, even if he didn't want photographic evidence of that support.

"The government support for the sealing industry is well known," he said.

"The standards in this industry are better, quite frankly, than the standards of other industries that deal with animal products. There is no reason the seal industry should be singled out for discriminatory treatment by Europeans or any other nation."

Harper also commented on a heartbreaking photo of two young boys sleeping outside a store in Iqaluit, apparently taken last month.

A local politician called the photo an "embarrassment" and said the area faces serious social problems.

Harper said the photo depicts a "terrible, tragic story."

"I think ... it pains all our hearts when you see that kind of story. I think it would be naive for us to believe ... that this is an isolated story, either here in Iqaluit, in Nunavut, or frankly anywhere else in the country.

"We believe obviously the first and most important aspect of addressing these problems is economic opportunity."

Despite the focus on the North's economy, it was a communication mistake out of the Prime Minister's Office that attracted the most attention.

Probably depending on party affiliation in Nunavut, a PMO news release was either comedic or cringe worthy.

It continually spelled Nunavut's capital as "Iqualuit" -- rather than the proper spelling of Iqaluit.

While the extra "u" may not seem like a massive error to some Canadians, it made a major difference to native speakers in the region.

Iqaluit, spelled properly, means "many fish." Spelled incorrectly, with an extra "u," it means people "with unwiped bums."

"It's not exactly a nice term," Sandra Inutiq of the office of the Languages Commissioner of Nunavut told The Canadian Press in Tuesday's most understated statement.

Two missions in the North

The creation of CanNor was referenced in last fall's throne speech and has been expected for some time.

In a statement released Tuesday, Harper said the government was acting "to unleash the North's true potential."

"We're working with Northerners because we don't want to pretend we have all the answers," Strahl said.

The cabinet committee on priorities and planning, which will be in Iqaluit for the next couple of days, is chaired by the prime minister, and includes 11 Conservative cabinet ministers and Sen. Marjory LeBreton.

Both the NDP and the Liberals have criticized Harper's Arctic trip as simply a repackaging of previous announcements.

"This is simply another version of previous commitments made to the North that transfers programs that already exist under Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and other agencies," Liberal MP and northern affairs critic Larry Bagnell said in a statement.

The prime minister arrived in Iqaluit on Monday evening, the first stop on a five-day-long trip to Canada's Arctic that he has made an annual event since becoming prime minister.

The prime minister will visit various Arctic communities while away from Ottawa, and he will observe military exercises in Frobisher Bay from the deck of the HMCS Toronto on Wednesday.

CTV's Rosemary Thompson said the not-so-secret purpose behind Harper's latest Arctic voyage is to show the world that Canada is serious about protecting its sovereignty.

She said Canada is facing a looming deadline four years from now, when Ottawa will have to let the United Nations know which parts of the Arctic belong to Canada.

"There is a serious issue that is behind this and that is the deadline in 2013, when all polar countries are going to have to submit their science to the UN...to show that they have a certain amount of territory in the Arctic," she said.

And Canada is not the only country in the midst of asserting its Arctic presence.

"The Americans are competing for part of this land, as are the Russians, the Danes and the Norwegians," Thompson said.

Retired Colonel Pierre Leblanc, the former commander of the Canadian Forces in the North, said the famed Northwest Passage is one of the areas currently under dispute.

"The Arctic, or part of it, especially the Northwest Passage, is still a contested area," he told CTV News Channel during an interview from Ottawa on Tuesday. "Canada claims it to be internal water over which it can apply all of it laws and regulations and standards, whereas some countries claim that it's an international strait."

Leblanc said the Harper's visit to the region and the military demonstration that he will attend send a signal to other countries that Canada is serious about its claims to its Arctic territory.

The strategic value of the Arctic is increasing as climate change takes it toll on the Far North. It is believed that as the polar ice caps melt away, the rich resources -- namely the region's oil and gas reserves -- trapped beneath the sea bed and the land, will be easier to access.

Despite what is on the line, Robert Huebert, the associate director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary, said Canada may be falling behind in its efforts to declare its sovereignty in the Arctic.

"We're seeing efforts of this on a much larger scale -- to be quite frank -- by the Russians, Norwegians and Danes, but it's very important that Canada be showing that, in fact, it's getting the capabilities and is taking its North seriously," Huebert told Canada AM during an interview from Calgary.

All three countries are increasing their military capabilities in the Arctic, while Canada is playing catch-up, he said.

"We're probably further ahead in the context of an overall plan in terms of some of the aspects such as the Arctic strategy, but in terms of our actual capability to be at the Northern waters, we probably have a little ways to go to catch up to some of the other neighbours," Huebert said.

The government has previously announced plans to build six light icebreakers that will patrol the region and is considering building a deep-water port and warfare centre.

Canada has also been keeping a close eye on Russian expeditions to the Arctic, and has taken issue with Russian jets flying near its Arctic airspace.

With files from The Canadian Press