Time to stake solid claim over Arctic
By PAUL BERTON
Despite what other nations may believe, Northwest Passage waterways are not an international thoroughfare for surface or submarine vessels. They're Canadian, and we should be exercising our jurisdiction, including imposing Canadian standards on international shipping and would-be polluters in the region.
Canadians have taken for granted our ownership in the region for more than a century, repeated our claim on it countless times and stated it dramatically in 1985 through a Commons speech by then-external affairs minister Joe Clark.
Now Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledges to make Canada's Arctic sovereignty "a major legacy of this government." Why? Because other nations refuse to acknowledge it.
A Leger Marketing poll for Sun Media shows Canadians want the government to secure land and waterway rights in the North, and are concerned the region's resources are at risk. It's a safe bet these feelings will strengthen as time goes on.
That's why Harper's commitment to beef up Canadian presence in the Arctic by building a new port, icebreaker capability and enhanced patrol and surveillance activities is more than prudent. Recruiting more people to the reservist Canadian Rangers, who carry out sovereignty operations in the most remote areas, is supported by Inuit leaders across the North, and well advised.
That can also help with chronic unemployment in the North, which, when added to the list of other social ills such as a lack of housing, illness and especially an alarmingly high rate of suicide among the Inuit, present a huge challenge for the Inuit, and for the feds.
In fact, overcoming Inuit social challenges may go a long way toward strengthening sovereignty.
"The first lesson of sovereignty is use it or lose it," says Harper. Surely that means doing whatever the government can to help the Inuit thrive in the North.
The Conservatives have agreed to support the spirit of the Kelowna Accord, which Inuit leaders believe will help them tackle some of the issues. With luck, Harper can kill two birds with one stone.
http://www.torontosun.com/Comment/Commentary/2007/02/27/3672148.html
This is very good paper, writen on the subject, as well.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?h...rtin.pdf+canada's+arctic+sovereignty+at+stake
By PAUL BERTON
Despite what other nations may believe, Northwest Passage waterways are not an international thoroughfare for surface or submarine vessels. They're Canadian, and we should be exercising our jurisdiction, including imposing Canadian standards on international shipping and would-be polluters in the region.
Canadians have taken for granted our ownership in the region for more than a century, repeated our claim on it countless times and stated it dramatically in 1985 through a Commons speech by then-external affairs minister Joe Clark.
Now Prime Minister Stephen Harper pledges to make Canada's Arctic sovereignty "a major legacy of this government." Why? Because other nations refuse to acknowledge it.
A Leger Marketing poll for Sun Media shows Canadians want the government to secure land and waterway rights in the North, and are concerned the region's resources are at risk. It's a safe bet these feelings will strengthen as time goes on.
That's why Harper's commitment to beef up Canadian presence in the Arctic by building a new port, icebreaker capability and enhanced patrol and surveillance activities is more than prudent. Recruiting more people to the reservist Canadian Rangers, who carry out sovereignty operations in the most remote areas, is supported by Inuit leaders across the North, and well advised.
That can also help with chronic unemployment in the North, which, when added to the list of other social ills such as a lack of housing, illness and especially an alarmingly high rate of suicide among the Inuit, present a huge challenge for the Inuit, and for the feds.
In fact, overcoming Inuit social challenges may go a long way toward strengthening sovereignty.
"The first lesson of sovereignty is use it or lose it," says Harper. Surely that means doing whatever the government can to help the Inuit thrive in the North.
The Conservatives have agreed to support the spirit of the Kelowna Accord, which Inuit leaders believe will help them tackle some of the issues. With luck, Harper can kill two birds with one stone.
http://www.torontosun.com/Comment/Commentary/2007/02/27/3672148.html
This is very good paper, writen on the subject, as well.
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?h...rtin.pdf+canada's+arctic+sovereignty+at+stake