Canada Makes a Show of Force in Disputed Arctic Region
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Ottawa Asserts Sovereignty Over The Arctic, Forgets Newfoundland and Labrador
By Myles Higgins
Two Canadian navel vessels, the HMCS Shawinigan and Glace Bay are currently heading into Eastern Artic waters and will be joined shortly by a third vessel, the frigate HMCS Fredericton in what can only be described as an attempt by the Canadian government to ward off perceived threats to its sovereignty in the North.
For decades Canada and Denmark have disputed ownership of the small island outcrop known as Hans Island. Little more than a barren rock and measuring a little over one square kilometer, debate over ownership of the island recently heated up when a Danish vessel patrolled the site, leading to a visit there by Canadian Defense Minister Bill Graham.
In Churchill last weekend, Navel Commodore Bob Blakely told reporters, “This is a demonstration of Canada’s will to exercise sovereignty over our own back yard.” The Commadore went on to say, “Use our resources wisely and don’t pollute the fragile northern ecosystem. It’s like having a path behind your house. Nobody minds the neighbours walking along. Just don’t dump your garbage there and don’t take my vegetables out of the garden,” he said.
Better management and protection of the Artic appears to be a major issue for Ottawa lately. Plans are being discussed to launch a satellite which will be used to monitor shipping in the area and the government plans to spend millions in road construction which will allow for access up the MacKenzie River Valley and into Tuktoyaktuk in the North.
While sabers rattle over what many purport to be a useless chunk of rock, in an area not expected to contain any mineral or oil reserves, another chunk of rock sitting in the North Atlantic goes all but unnoticed and unprotected.
The island portion of Newfoundland and Labrador has been surrounded for decades by foreign fleets. Fleets that openly rape its coastal waters of fish, pollute nesting grounds of migrating birds by intentionally dumping bilge oil and destroy the area’s undersea habitat through dragging of the ocean floor. All of this while Canadian government and military officials sit idly by and watch.
No protection is offered to this island which is quickly becoming Canada’s emerging oil and gas capital and is home to half a million citizens. One wonders what it will take for the Canadian military to display its sovereignty in this area.
Currently there is practically no military presence either on the land or at sea in the province with the exception of an air training base in the mainland portion of the province, Labrador. A base that has been all but closed by the federal government in recent years.
It’s an interesting paradox that a one square kilometer island in the remote Arctic, that has no inhabitants, can require Canada’s military to send war ships to its defense and spur the federal government into spending millions on roads, while a populated island like Newfoundland measuring 112,000 square kilometers does not even rank a canoe with a boy scout on board.
What about the big land of Labrador?
Labrador has a land mass 3 times larger than the 3 Maritime provinces combined. A land mass containing perhaps the world’s most abundant sources of iron, nickel, uranium and other precious minerals, yet it is losing its military base and while a road is planned for access into the remote Arctic, Labrador doesn’t even have a highway. Instead many residents must travel from community to community by boat or air and in some cases over gravel roads, weather permitting.
What will it take for the Canadian government to recognize the fact that Atlantic Canada exists? Maybe the good folks just off the coast of Newfoundland, in the French colony of St. Pierre, should swing by in a dory and plant a French flag on shore. It might just give Canada’s Defense Minister an excuse for a visit.
For more by Myles Higgins:
www.freenewfoundlandlabrador.blogspot.com/
@ August 26, 2005