A country’s sovereignty must be established early on because it gives the citizens and its leaders the right to know not only where they geographically speaking but also what is rightfully theirs, to use and to protect.
It is therefore fitting that sovereignty can only be achieved if a country, its people and its government are able to demonstrate that there are able to occupy and use that particular geographic location. In the case of the Northwest Passage located in Canada’s northernmost border the Canadian government is forced by circumstances and recent events to assert their sovereignty over the said region.
As a matter of fact over the past three years, Prime Minister Harper has made it repeatedly clear that he will do everything in his power to protect Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic. But truth to be told, the Canadian government does not have the resources to back up Harper’s rhetoric, at least not enough to convince the United States and Russia that they are serious with their claim.
Overview
It has to be clarified that the arctic lands “presently claimed by the U.S., Canada and Denmark are considered secure” (Grant, p.11). In other words there has never been any dispute with regards to these lands. The sovereignty disputes related to foreign rights of transit in adjacent waters specifically the Northwest Passage (Grant, p.11).
The Northwest Passage is the term given to a sea passage that allows for a shorter trip between East Asia and Europe. It is specifically “a water route through the islands of northern Canada connecting the Atlantic and the Pacific oceans” (CBC News, 2006, p.1). It is a potentially significant region in terms of logistics, however, it is a passageway that is frozen most of the year. No shipping vessel can actually traverse this route except for a few heavily reinforced icebreakers.
This explains why since the discovery of the Northwest Passage no one bothered to determine the sovereignty of Canada and as a matter of fact Canada does not need to assert sovereignty because the place is inhospitable and inaccessible. But the current weather phenomenon called global climate change is changing the way the words sees this sea route. Global climate change is said to cause the rapid and pervasive melting of Arctic ice.
Scientists are saying that in a few more decades the Northwest Passage will experience long periods of time wherein it will be ice-free. This is not a small thing because using this route will reduce the distance traveled between London and Tokyo by more or less 7,000 kilometers or two weeks of travel time (CBC News, 2006, p.1). Commercial vessels can therefore find it lucrative to use the Northwest Passage.
In addition, there has been much speculation – based on discoveries made in adjacent areas – that the Arctic holds vast reserves of oil, gas and precious stones. This means that the United States, Russia, and even Denmark may find it this region to precious to ignore.
In this regard, the lands above the North Pole belong to no country. There seems to be an unwritten rule that most countries around the world are in agreement. Nevertheless, there were recent developments that may change this view.
For instance, a Russian scientist went there and placed a Russian flag under the seabed, stating that “the Lomonosov ridge connects its Arctic territories with the North Pole (Pilkington, 2007, p.1) Political analysts scoff at the idea pointing instead to Russia’s depleted oil reserves as the real reason why they are interested in the Arctic region (Pilkington, 2007, p.1).
Aside from the Russians, the Americans have much to gain in the event that sovereignty over these waters cannot be established. The recent news of a piece of arctic land that became highly-valuable overnight because of costs of building oil rigs is one reason why the Americans would love to control this area.
Furthermore, the United States is a military power and therefore additional passageway could increase their logistical advantages over their foes. One major point of contention is not only the ease at which U.S. icebreakers can cross the Northwest Passage but also the fact that U.S. submarines can travel subsurface and virtually undetected by the Canadian government.
The Law
First and foremost sovereignty is established through international law. Nations must agree of some specific set of laws in order to maintain stability. Thus, the law concerning sovereignty can be consulted to resolve this issue once and for all. According to law experts sovereignty is the power or title over a specific territory can be achieved by various means such as: “discovery, cession, accretion, subjugation, prescription or contiguity” (Grant, p.12).
But there is one important thing to consider with regards to this rule, “If title was based on discovery alone it was considered inchoate” in other words it is undeveloped and temporary” (Grant, p.12). This means that sovereignty could lapse “if not followed within a reasonable time by effective occupation” (Grant, p.12). This is a real challenge for the Canadian government who is faced with the prospect of patrolling and managing not an ordinary piece of real estate but the Arctic where ice is a perennial fixture in the landscape.
The law seems to be on the side of the Canadians but there is one problem, they still have to convince other nations that indeed the Northwest Passage is theirs to control. The United States is one of them.
According to one commentator, “Washington classifies the passage as neutral waters because it claims that Canadian sovereignty only extends a limited distance from the shore and it has outraged Canadian opinion by sending nuclear submarines through the strait” (Pilkington, 2007, p..1). The Canadian government must clearly demonstrate their intention to control the Northwest Passage and therefore gain sovereignty over this region.
Harper’s Rhetoric
Prime Minister Harper made a commitment to the Canadian people that he will safeguard their future especially when it comes to their claim in the Arctic region where the Northwest Passage belongs. Harper said, “Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty over the Arctic … We either use it or lose it” (Pilkington, 2007, p.1).
Then he added, “And make no mistake, this government intends to use it” (Pilkington, p.1, 2007). Harper also made the announcement that his administration will build six to eight armed Arctic patrol vessels and a deep-water naval base on Baffin Island in order for Canada to assert control over the said passage (Dyer, 2009, p.1). But these projects remain the drawing board.
Aside from the cost of maintaining a significant presence in the Arctic there is probably another reason why Canada will not commit a major portion of its resources to patrolling the Northwest Passage. The reason perhaps is that no one can be sure what exactly they are trying to safeguard. This is because talk about oil reserves and the profitability of Arctic shipping remains just like that, pure talk.
According to one scholar who spend time analyzing this subject matter, “there is profound uncertainty surrounding the search for hydrocarbons in the Arctic” and he added, “Arctic oil and gas will always be expensive to produce” (Griffiths, 1987, p.117). Due to the extreme weather in this region it is understandable why it is expensive to extract gas or oil and transport through long distances.
Ambitious Plan
It is easy to understand why Prime Minister has for the past three years engaged in rabble-rousing speeches with regards to the Northwest Passage. The Russians came tantalizingly close to provoking the Canadians while the United States seems to behave like a school bully every time their submarines using this particular sea route without permission.
Harper is just doing his job as the elected leader of the Canadian populace he has the responsibility to think about the future of the Arctic region and Canada’s stake in it. He had to show the Russians and the Americans that he meant business and that they must think twice if they believe that the Canadians can be easily intimidated or ignored.
But there is more. Harper is very much aware of the legal implications of dereliction of duty when it comes to asserting their sovereignty over the Northwest Passage. Harper know so well that if the Canadian government cannot show proof that they are actively patrolling and making investments in securing the area then country’s right to rule over this area can be lost. More importantly the neighboring nations will be emboldened to try to take away this precious possession. It has to be guarded and it has to be subjugated.
However, there are many political analysts and scientists who are also aware of the fact that what the Canadian government intends to do is something that is beyond their capabilities. First of all patrolling the Northwest Passage is not the same as patrolling a river, lake or shoreline.
The men and equipment sent to this region will have to work under harsh conditions. This is just the beginning because one way to achieve active occupation is through “acts by government such as the provision of basic services, administrative structures for governance and enforcement of a nation’s laws and regulations” (Grant, year, p.12). These are activities that the Harper administration cannot afford to finance.
One researcher who made it her life’s mission to study this region has this to say about the difficulties that they the Canadian government will face if ever they will support Harper all the way and she did it by describing life in the High Arctic and she wrote:
The compelling beauty of the scene slowly gave way to one of incomprehension. How could three young men assisted by two Greenlandic Inuit families possibly protect Canadian sovereignty in this remote and barren land, which has never been occupied by Inuit and rarely, if ever, been visited by hunting parties? Even the whalers had long departed. With a small wooden skill and rifles used for hunting, how could they do anything of greater significance than raising a flag on Beechey Island? Was it just symbolic? (Grant, year, p.ix)
The picture that Grant painted is an inhospitable area that at present Canada is unable to subjugate and administer. But Grant is not talking about the North Pole, she is talking about a territory under Canadian rule and yet the government cannot even secure it without the help of Greelandic Inuits.
How much more if the government mobilizes its troops towards the Northwest Passage where everything is covered in ice? In the past, plans to created sophisticated defence and monitoring systems were abandoned (McRae, 1994, p.1). Aside from monetary considerations the environmental factors best explains why it is difficult to claim sovereignty over the Northwest Passage. It is not an exaggeration to say that Harper’s plan to assert sovereignty is simply too ambitious.
Conclusion
The Canadians may have discovered the Northwest Passage and therefore they can lay hold of it and assert their sovereignty. However, legal experts are quick to point out that sovereignty as a result of discovery alone is undeveloped or temporary. There must be active demonstration of subjugation and administration over these territories.
This is the dilemma of Canadian Prime Minister Harper. He knows the rule of law and the need for the government to show the world that they have the capability to assert control over the Northwest Passage. This requires the building of sophisticated facilities that can effectively function under extreme weather conditions. This requires the mobilization of men into barren landscapes and sea routes frozen for the most part of the year.
In the past these plans, including the use of submarines to patrol the subsurface traffic under the strait had been abandoned, obviously because of monetary reasons. Harper must continue his rhetoric but the Canadian people must be realistic when it comes to securing sovereignty over the Northwest Passage. They could only hope that climate experts are wrong in their predictions or else they can do nothing if other countries will challenge their claim.
Works Cited
CBC News. The Arctic Grail. CBC Canada News, 2006. Web.
Dyer, Gwynee. Northwest Passage will never be commercially viable. Straight. 2009. Web.
Grant, Shelagh. Polar Imperative: A History of Arctic Sovereignty in North America. Quebec: Douglas & McIntyre, 2010.
Griffiths, Franklyn. Politics of the Northwest Passage. Montreal: McGill-Queens University Press, 1987.
McRae, Donald. Arctic Sovereignty: Loss by Dereliction? Canadian Arctic Resources Committee, 1994. Web.
Pilkington, Ed. Canada flexes its muscles in scramble for the Arctic. Guardian News and Media, 2007. Web.