True North, Strong And Free

Arctic sovereignty. It's been in the papers the last little while, maybe more so now than in the last few years. There's questions being raised about how far north Canada's borders extend. The United States claims that the Northwest Passage should be an international waterway, even though it's still very dangerous to traverse, and is impassable for a good part of the year. Either way many countries believe we do not own the north. Bollocks I say.

The only reason our arctic sovereignty would ever be called into question is because of the vast amounts of untapped resources there are in the north. Greed is why the U.S. challenges our claim, our internationally recognized claim, to the north. Bush stated that it will need these resources to continue its way of life. Fine. You want to the north Mr. Bush? You've got Alaska. Now shut-up, keep packing, and don't let the door knob hit your arse on the way out. Hopefully Mr. Obama will be more agreeable. There would be nothing more fruitless than engaging in a war with the U.S. over northern resources. Nothing good would ever come of it. The resources the U.S. needs, namely oil, could just as easily come from the Middle East, or Russia, if they decide to sit down and negotiate a deal over it. If we choose to leave our own land alone then so be it.

No amount of neighbourly bullying should change our stance on developing the arctic. The borders of Canada extend beyond the arctic circle, past Baffin Island, past the Queen Elizabeth Islands, to the northern outpost CFB Alert on the northern part of Ellesmere Island. These are our lands, Canadian lands, and if anyone wants to make claim to that which is ours, then they'll have to make it past the Canadian Forces first, because we aren't giving it up without a fight.

Freeman