Why we must control the Arctic.

last updated 8 January 2015

Canada

Editorial

Don’t mess with Canada, said the Vancouver Province in an editorial. That, at least, was the message incoming Prime Minister Stephen Harper delivered to Americans last week on the contentious issue of Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic. It started when U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins remarked that the U.S. and Canada “have agreed to disagree” over who controls the frigid waters of the Arctic Ocean. Not true, retorted Harper, noting that Canada firmly protests the U.S. contention that those waters are “international.” The issue is becoming more important with each passing year, as the polar ice melts at an increasing rate. Soon, the Northwest Passage “could become a major sea lane between Europe and Asia,” more than 4,000 miles shorter than the Panama Canal route. “Who will patrol this route in order to protect against environmental degradation, if not Canada? Who will guard the border against terrorist incursions, if not Canada?” We have the polar icebreakers. We have the Arctic-trained air battalions. And most important, we have the sovereignty.