Canada's Defence Minister, Peter McKay, has reported that last week, just as US President Obama was to make his first foreign trip to Ottawa, the Royal Canadian Air Force intercepted a Russian jet near Canadian air space in the Arctic.  The Russian plane was turned back by two Canadian CF-18s.  McKay says that he does not want to accuse Russia of "making mischief", but added that Canada takes such matters seriously.  Russia last year resumed the old Soviet practice of bomber sortées over the Arctic, which has put Canada on edge, as it tries to maintain sovereignty over its Arctic archipelago.