Opinion: Northerners need roads, not jet fighters

(Iain Hunter/Times Colonist, 29 August 2010) -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper struck what he considered an appropriate northern attitude on a chunk of ice while in the Arctic last week. It would be impertinent for anyone to suggest that he should have stayed on it long enough that it melted. Harper, who has micromanaged the federal government to a standstill in so many areas, has refocused his attention on the Arctic, as he seems to do about once a year. He appears to have done no damage, though. He looked almost benign, when he wasn't dancing, sort of, with the Inuit kids. It was sweet, the way he held that diver's hose as she went over the side to talk to him from the depths.

But Vladimir Putin was in the Arctic last week, too -- his, I trust. And in the picture of him that I saw, he was in the bow of a speeding craft, crossbow at the ready, looking for something to shoot. The Russian premier was striking a northern attitude which, obviously, he felt appropriate. Our dear leader, to the concern of Ottawa bureaucrats dealing with northern affairs, has a tendency to adopt the same attitude when it suits his political purpose. ...

So how does Harper illustrate this new Arctic thaw? He takes his hands out of his pockets and declares that "nothing comes before" the security and defence of Canada's North, while his chief of defence staff stands on the snow beside him in desert camouflage and Canadian warplanes harass Russian ones over the horizon. Take that, Vlad. This sort of thing is what Ottawa bureaucrats might call unhelpful. They prefer gentle diplomatic engagements to settle things so that Canada benefits from what the warming north will provide. ...

Beyond all the prime minister's posturing, though, he's right to draw our attention to what we have north of 60, because the attention of others is becoming obvious, and ours is so easily distracted. It's said that there's a 20-year supply of natural gas below the Beaufort Sea and we should be finding out how much is ours and how or whether we and our Arctic partners can extract it safely. Nobody will ever acknowledge that the Northwest Passage is ours once the icebreakers go and the cruise ships and freighters come. We should at least be offering, though, to direct traffic. Our northerners don't need warships and naval ports and radar stations. They need the roads and infrastructure to take advantage of the coming new climate and what, and who, it will bring. For the climate, she's a-changing, as Harper would have realized, finally, had he lingered longer on that chunk of ice.

# - Amanda Graham - 29 August 2010; 10:34:36 PM

Harper begins Arctic sovereignty tour

(CBC News, 23 August 2010) -- Prime Minister Stephen Harper embarked on a five-day tour of the Arctic region Monday, a trip that has become an annual event for the prime minister to demonstrate Canada's sovereignty there. Harper left Ottawa Monday morning, stopping first in Churchill, Man., to make an announcement of $13.4 million dollars for upgrades to the local airport. He will continue north to Nunavut where there is a Canadian Military Arctic sovereignty exercise called Operation Nanook. That exercise is entering its final week. The prime minister will also travel to the Northwest Territories and Yukon before returning to Ottawa on Friday.

Last Friday, the federal government issued a news statement on Arctic foreign policy, indicating that making progress on Arctic boundary issues is now a top foreign policy priority. Harper spoke to reporters after the policy statement was released to say that while Canada is open to working with partners in the region "where appropriate," Canada's Arctic sovereignty is "non-negotiable." Canada disagrees with the United States about the border in the Beaufort Sea and with Denmark over control of Hans Island, off Greenland. The North has become a coveted region because of potential oil and gas reserves as well as the prospect of a navigable Northwest Passage if climate change continues to warm the area.

# - Amanda Graham - 23 August 2010; 12:38:24 PM

Canada cools Arctic rhetoric, says resolving border disputes is top priority

(Murray Brewster/The Canadian Press, Brandon Sun, 20 August 2010) -- OTTAWA - The Harper government has put forward a new policy that aims to thaw frosty relations with its Arctic neighbours, but it remains to be seen how much it will cool its rhetoric in the hotly contested region.

Canada's Arctic Foreign Policy, released Friday, recognizes that Canada, the United States and Denmark do not agree about their respective maritime boundaries in the North. But it downplays the disputes and describes them as "discrete boundary issues" that are being managed. Settling those disputes under international law will be "a priority," Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon said.

"Through international leadership and stewardship, we will promote Canada's vision for the North. That vision is of a stable region with clearly defined boundaries, dynamic economic growth and trade."

When asked to sum up what the policy meant to accomplish, Cannon said: "We're talking; we're engaging with our partners." The new policy also commits the Conservative government, which has long underlined the importance of military prowess in the Far North, to a more "strategic engagement on Arctic issues."

# - Amanda Graham - 22 August 2010; 12:56:13 PM

Arctic policy priority No. 1: Settle border disputes

(John Ibbitson/Globe and Mail, 20 August 2010) -- In a historic shift, Canada will make finding solutions to Arctic boundary disputes this country’s top foreign-policy priority in the Far North, according to a Foreign Affairs paper that will be released on Friday. The Conservative government now wants swift and permanent solutions to border issues that this and previous governments had preferred to leave unresolved. The goal is to transform the Arctic from a hotbed of jurisdictional conflicts into a stable, rules-based region, which Canada believes is the essential underpinning of economic and environmental progress.

The report, on which The Globe and Mail has been briefed by several sources, does not tackle the dispute over control of the Northwest Passage. Nor does it make any commitments about when and how the Conservatives will finance expensive promises for an icebreaker and other concrete manifestations of Canada’s claim to sovereignty over the Arctic waters. But the report does signal to other northern nations that this country wants to advance a shared agenda for the Far North rather than simply to assert territorial claims. The Foreign Affairs paper, in short, declares that Canada means what it said recently about resolving Arctic conflicts.

# - Amanda Graham - 21 August 2010; 10:06:07 PM

Canada unveils new Arctic foreign policy statement

(Jane George/Nunatsiaq News, 20 August 2010) -- Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon launched a new Arctic foreign policy for Canada this morning in Ottawa, but offered no new promises of money for the Arctic Council, said nothing about the re-appointment of an Arctic ambassador position or an increased role for Inuit in international negotiations.

“L’Arctique est une partie de nous. Depuis longtemps. Aujourd’hui plus que jamais. Et pour toujours… The Arctic is part of us. Was. Is. And always will be,” Cannon said in a short statement delivered in French and English, noting that the importance of the Arctic and Canada’s interests in the North “have never been greater.” It makes sense to define Canada as an Arctic power, he said. To that end, Ottawa intends to promote Canada’s Arctic vision through international leadership and stewardship, “but firmly rooted in our commitment to sovereignty in the North,” Cannon said. This vision includes “a stable, rules-based region with clearly defined boundaries, dynamic economic growth and trade, vibrant northern communities and healthy and productive ecosystem,” he said.

But sovereignty is the “absolute priority,” Cannon said in French — in the North as well as over the rest of Canada — and Canada is ready to defend that as needed, he added. The long presence of Inuit, other native peoples and Canadian explorers like Joseph Bernier means Canada’s  sovereignty over the Arctic is “well established,” Cannon said. Speaking in French, Cannon said Canada exercises that sovereignty at home every day though good governance, sound management and concrete actions.

Internationally, Canada plans to continue to work with the other seven Arctic Council member nations, he said, mentioning his plans to travel to Norway, Finland and Russia early next month to discuss “Arctic matters.” As for the new Arctic policy, Cannon called it the “international lens” of the “four pillars” of the 2009 northern strategy: exercising Canada’s sovereignty, improving and devolving governance, protecting the Arctic’s environmental heritage and promoting economic and social development. But most of Cannon’s Aug. 20 statement focused on Canada’s plans with respect to exercising its sovereignty and settling outstanding boundaries with other Arctic nations, such as securing recognition for the full extent of the extended continental shelf in the Arctic Ocean to meet the 2013 deadline for United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

# - Amanda Graham - 21 August 2010; 9:16:05 PM

canada@150 Research Report: The Arctic

(Introduction) -- In the past decade, the North has moved into the spotlight both domestically and internationally. Increased political and public attention and scientific interest in the North are changing the relationship of Canada with its northern population. The impetus behind this interest seems to be largely divided among the climatic changes that are affecting the physical environment, the untapped natural resources, and the increased international interest and activity in northern waters. These three issues are at the forefront of current political policy and strategy, however, the need to address the social and economic conditions of Northerners is also critical in order to create sustainable and successful solutions.

The effects of climate change on the Arctic, coupled with advances in technology and changing geopolitical realities, have resulted in what is seen by many as a perfect storm of opportunity in the North. The rapidly melting ice is opening up new trade and shipping routes, and improved technologies are making oil and gas exploration and extraction increasingly attractive. Questions of Arctic resource ownership and control of waterways are becoming more pressing as an increasing number of countries and international institutions are beginning to focus more attentively on the North.

These fairly recent and rapid changes present several critical crosscutting policy challenges for Canada as we look ahead eight years to 2017. The North is unique not only for the intersection of a variety of governing interests, but also for the significant degree of overlap and tension between key policy opportunities and challenges. This creates a need for forward-looking policy to ensure Northerners and decision-makers alike are equipped to respond effectively to the rapidly changing dynamic of the region.

This paper outlines a vision for Canada’s North in 2017. A variety of policy challenges are highlighted and policy options are offered to achieve this vision. This paper also identifies the resulting implications to the Public Service and recommen dations for action as they apply to the people and institutions of the North.

# - Amanda Graham - 21 August 2010; 8:19:41 PM

Reclaiming our sovereignty in the Arctic

(Calgary Herald, 3 August 2010) -- The discovery last week of a 36-metre, three-masted, copper-bottomed ship in Mercy Bay in the Northwest Territories is a boon to Canadian claims of sovereignty; it is a physical reminder of the journey through the Northwest Passage in the mid-19th century of those from Canada's colonial mother country of the day, England. But the discovery is remarkable as an archaeological find all on its own. ...

The HMS Investigator and the story of Capt. McClure, fittingly discovered last week by the guardians of Canada's natural wonders, Parks Canada, is the stuff of legend and is useful today for diplomatic reasons: the archaeological find only strengthens Canada's claim to the Arctic.

# - Amanda Graham - 6 August 2010; 7:47:31 PM

US-Canada Arctic border dispute key to maritime riches

(Sian Griffiths/BBC News, 2 August 2010) -- Canada and the United States are beginning a five-week joint Arctic survey, part of which will take place in a section of the energy-rich Beaufort Sea that is claimed by both countries. The survey is intended to help the neighbours determine the extent of their continental shelves. The bi-national study is part of an ongoing race by the Arctic nations — the US, Canada, Russia, Norway and Denmark — to gather evidence to submit claims under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It could grant them exploitation rights to potential energy and mineral wealth above and below the sea floor. Currently, coastal nations can claim exploitation rights in an Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) — a 200-mile (322km) nautical area beyond their land territory.

If the Arctic nations can prove that their submerged territory extends beyond 200 miles, they could gain access to vast untapped resources which lie beneath the pristine waters of the polar region. However, a major obstacle for Canada and the US is the uncertainty over how their Arctic maritime boundary should be defined. "Canada and the United States need this data, both to delineate the continental shelf and to assist in the eventual resolution of the Beaufort Sea maritime boundary dispute," explained Canada's Foreign Affairs minister, Lawrence Cannon, in a press release describing why the two countries were co-operating on this mission.

# - Amanda Graham - 2 August 2010; 1:54:47 PM