Arctic sovereignty: Sheathe thy sword

Now that global warming is rapidly melting the Arctic ice cap, opening up the possibility of shipping through the Northwest Passage and developing the region’s vast oil and gas resources, the five Arctic basin states (Canada, United States, Russia, Denmark/Greenland and Norway) are scrambling to secure their claims to the region.

Under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), coastal states own the seabed beyond the existing 200 nautical mile zones and up to 350 miles if they can prove it to be part of their continental shelf and in shallower waters. Since the United States is the only one of the five that hasn’t ratified UNCLOS – the Obama administration and U.S. Congress are expected to do so – the members of the Arctic-5 are currently mapping the Arctic’s subsea floor to support their claims.


The issue of Arctic sovereignty has reared its ugly head several times since Stephen Harper said Canada must “use it or lose it” and made it a central plank of his 2005-06 election campaign. Even before taking office in February, 2006, prime minister-designate Harper and the U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David Wilkins, sparred over the necessity of the Conservative’s Arctic sovereignty plan.

But when Harper meets with President Obama in Ottawa on Thursday the prime minister would be smart to sheathe his sword over the whole issue.

Financial Post