Why we ought to control the northern route

last updated 8 January 2015

Canada

Michael Byers

The U.S. is putting American business interests ahead of its national security, said Michael Byers in the Toronto Star. U.S. officials have long contested Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Passage, a sea route that connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans via the icy waters of northern Canada. Washington says it’s an international waterway, open to U.S. merchant ships for navigation. Canada insists that Ottawa should be able to regulate who crosses Canadian territory by sea. Until recently, the question was moot; the passage was almost always choked with ice. As the global climate warms, though, the waterway has opened up, and in another 10 years, any ship will be able to get through. With the war on terror in full sway, “it cannot benefit the U.S. to have foreign vessels shielded from reasonable regulations and scrutiny.” Canada, though, lacks the ships to properly police the passage. So how about a deal? The U.S. could recognize Canada’s claim and invest in border-control equipment, in return for open access to U.S. ships. But the U.S. had better act soon. “With the ice disappearing, time is running out.”