The Northwest Passage, the Arctic and Canada’s claim to it, and finally, Billy Connolly takes you on a tour of the north- [do not miss it]
March 19, 2009
Conservative Reporter
Tags: Arctic, Arctic Sovereignty, Billy Connolly, canada, defence, journey to the edge of the world, Northwest Passage, Nunavut, Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Canada’s Legal Claims over Arctic Territory and Waters – This is a December, 2007 document – [ expect this to be amended ]
This blog had an article on this subject June, 2007 for your further information.
August, 2007 – Our Prime Minister asserts our claim to the Northwest Passage
Canada Claims Sovereignty in the Arctic
August 28, 2008–TUKTOYAKTUK, Northwest Territories – Canada’s prime minister moved to firm up control of disputed Arctic waters Wednesday by announcing stricter registration requirements for ships sailing in the Northwest Passage.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper said that all ships sailing into the Canadian Arctic will be required to report to NORDREG, the Canadian Coast Guard agency that tracks vessels on such journeys. Such registration is now voluntary.
Later, they would spend hours memorizing the intricate and nearly silent audio patterns made by the latest generation of Russian and U.S. submarines, highly classified knowledge that will be used by Canada to follow the increasingly assertive manoeuvres taking place beneath the Arctic ice.
“It’s become a real cat-and-mouse game, actually, submarines keep trying to improve their noise-quieting technology, and we try to improve our listening technology to stay ahead. It’s a constant challenge,” said Captain Glen Gullison, from the Canadian military’s Acoustic Data Analysis Centre in Halifax.
Mr Harper said a cold-weather army training base would be set up at Resolute Bay and an existing port at a former mine at Nanisivik would be refurbished to supply Arctic patrol vessels.
The Arctic is under siege as never before.
The Russians send submarines deep below the North Pole. The Americans dispatch surveillance planes to monitor new threats in the North. And when high-profile visitors such as U.S. President Barack Obama come to town, Canada scrambles to defend territories it has ignored for too long.
Rob Huebert, associate director of the University of Calgary’s Centre for Military and Strategic Studies,said it’s possible U.S., British, Russian or even French subs could have been operating in the area. “Nobody wants to face up to the fact that in the Arctic we’re starting to see everybody resuming naval operations again.” - Last summer, Russia announced plans to increase the “operational radius” of its northern sub fleet.
Battle for the Arctic heats up – countries rush to plant their flags in the vast arctic
By Sandro Contenta , GlobalPost
Published: March 17, 2009 22:00 ET
Updated: March 18, 2009 23:23 ETTORONTO — For Canadians, the Arctic has long been a place of imagination. It’s where Inuit shamans fly and explorers disappear without a trace. Vast and forbidding, it has helped imprint in the national psyche an almost debilitating sense of isolation.
Canada’s sovereignty over its portion of this mythical place is now being challenged, most notably by the United States and Russia. It’s part of a bigger rush for the Arctic, the setting for what the conservative Heritage Foundation recently predicted will be a new Cold War.
A British film crew sail through the Northwest Passage
[Editor's note: Stephen Harper stood ground against the U.S in his first news conference as prime minister-elect. At issue: Harper's vow to deploy military icebreakers to monitor and defend our northern arctic waters. The day before, U.S. ambassador to Canada David Wilkins had opposed the plan, stating, "There's no reason to create a problem that doesn't exist." Harper's response on Friday: "The United States defends its sovereignty and the Canadian government will defend our sovereignty. It is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador of the United States."
At stake is control over the long sought Northwest Passage route over Canada's northern reaches, fast becoming a reality thanks to global warming. To understand the significance of such a passage, and Canada's interests there, the Tyee presents this in-depth article by UBC international law expert Michael Byers. This article is adapted from a speech he gave to The Vancouver Institute on January 28.]
The Need to Defend our Northwest Passage
AND TO FINALIZE…HERE IS A TREAT – BILLY CONNOLLY – JOURNEY TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD -
Here it is in no particular order:
And Here:
Here:
Finally Here:
Entry Filed under: canadian politics
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1.
wilson | March 20, 2009 at 12:07 am
Excellent post CP! Thx.
2.
Conservative Reporter | March 20, 2009 at 7:36 am
I am putting in a comment from Mark, Ottawa – his post got lost when I did some re-writing of the original post:
Mark
Ottawa