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Great White North
New Canadian PM rebuffs US envoy
2006-01-27
Canadian Prime Minister-elect Stephen Harper has defended plans to send military ice-breakers to the Arctic in defiance of criticism from Washington.
2006, when the seeds of the Ice War were planted
US ambassador David Wilkins said on Wednesday that Washington opposed the plan and, like most other countries, did not recognise Canada's claims. Mr Harper said his mandate was from the Canadian people, not Mr Wilkins. Mr Harper's Conservatives have promised to defend Canada's northern waters from claims by the US, Russia and Denmark.
"We will fight them on the beaches, we will fight them on the hockey rinks, we shall never surrender! By the way, can you loan us a few guns?"
And a plane to get us to where you're violating our sovereignty?
Click here for a detailed map of the region
The Conservative plans include the construction and deployment of three new armed heavy ice-breaking ships and an underground network of listening posts.
Damm expansionist Canadians!
The BBC's Lee Carter in Toronto says Canada has only recently woken up to the fact that, with global warming being blamed for melting ice in the Arctic, the so-far-mythical northwest passage, which could link the Atlantic and the Pacific, may in fact become a reality. The US and Canada, together with Denmark, Norway and Russia, have competing claims on parts of the Arctic and the economic bounty they may yield, including trade routes, fishing rights, pelts of cute baby seals, and oil and gas. The US has challenged Canada's current claims, saying that it considers much of the region to be international waters. Ambassador Wilkins described the Canadian position as creating a problem that did not exist, prompting an angry reaction from Mr Harper. "The United States defends its sovereignty, the Canadian government will defend our sovereignty," he said. "It is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador of the United States."
Will we see Canadians marching with signs protesting "No Blood for Ice"?
Mr Harper had criticised election opponents for attacking the US in a bid to win votes.
Posted by:Steve

#28  I'd like to see one historical source that says this region is contested, i.e., show me one historically alternate name for the Queen Elizabeth Islands, in Russian, Chinese, Danish, or whatever.

All this "contested" bullshit is just coming out of the woodwork now. This isn't Antarctica. Land claims have been settled a long time ago, +/- Hans Island.
Posted by: Rafael   2006-01-27 22:59  

#27  Doesn't Greenland contest some of this area as well?
Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom   2006-01-27 22:07  

#26  Hey, Harper! All your ice floes are belong to US!

That's okay, you can have the ice floes. We'll keep the parts that are more permanent, like the islands and such.
Posted by: Rafael   2006-01-27 20:35  

#25  BH - #8 - ROFL!

Agreed, JDB. Perfection.
Posted by: .com   2006-01-27 19:34  

#24  I say good thing he is asserting his "Canada first" mind set. I have no problem with that. Canada is not 52nd a US state like many wish it was.

All my lefty Canadian pals are frothed up because he said "God Bless Canada". He is a "radical fundementalist" they think. They are young and beleive the Liberal party propaganda.

Message to PM elect Harper. Don't take lessons from us. We haven't got that down yet.
Posted by: Sock Puppet O´ Doom   2006-01-27 18:06  

#23  Gosh Phil details, details. You know Canada would never stop anyone from entering or exiting their waterway, or country for that matter, two days ago when there was a shootout at the border the guards ran.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-01-27 18:06  

#22  we better watch out, they might send us a really nasty letter.
Posted by: 2b   2006-01-27 17:30  

#21  FT2166, that was worth a post.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-01-27 17:21  

#20  Thus Article 16(4) of the Geneva
Convention provided that:
There shall be no suspension of the innocent passage of foreign ships through straits which are used in international navigation between one part of the high seas and another part of the high seas or the territorial sea of a foreign State.
Posted by: phil_b   2006-01-27 16:57  

#19  PM Harper imposter dupes French President Chirac:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/cpress/20060127/ca_pr_on_me/brite_harper_chirac_1
Posted by: Flomotch Thaiper2166   2006-01-27 12:49  

#18  Underground listening posts? I wonder what those will be like.

Clive, do you hear something - sort of a scratching noise, he?

It's an ice mole, eh. Now pass me another Molson's, eh.
Posted by: WhitecollarRedneck   2006-01-27 12:45  

#17  Do the Americans really want Russian and Chinese warships freely bobbing around up there?

Already had Chinese 'civilian' ships there; it'd be just a minor escalation.
Posted by: Pappy   2006-01-27 12:07  

#16  It was. I just wanted an excuse to post a picture of Satans Sub.
Posted by: 6   2006-01-27 12:05  

#15  OOPS I was wrong, decommisioned March 2000.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-01-27 11:46  

#14  I thought the devilfish, AKA Hawkbill, was decommissioned back in the late 90Â’s.
Posted by: 49 Pan   2006-01-27 11:45  

#13  Welcome back to the Anglosphere, cousins! We've missed you.

I'd wait for a little more evidence before I went that far.
Posted by: Nimble Spemble   2006-01-27 11:31  

#12  I like your analysis Canuck, and I like Mr. Harper's reminder to the citizens that Canada is a sovereign nation, and as such is required to define and muster some defense of its borders.

A defense that might even require some amount of pointy and projectile-flinging objects, persons trained in the use of said objects, and vaguely menacing floating personnel containers, perhaps also appointed with pointy and projectile-flinging objects.

Welcome back to the Anglosphere, cousins! We've missed you.
Posted by: Seafarious   2006-01-27 11:18  

#11  I think there is an interesting and deliberate political dance being started here. I think that the Americans would rather see the North West Passage being in Canadian waters because it gives them more influence than if it were international waters. (Do the Americans really want Russian and Chinese warships freely bobbing around up there?) And there is no better way for the US to put pressure on Canada to actually beef up its military than by "taking away" our True North.

Note, too, that the NORAD agreement is up for renewal. This time though it is to be signed with no renewal date. There is also negociation to include naval defenses of North America and not just air defense.

So what is in the best strategic interest of the US? International waters to the north of Canada or joint defense of a major shipping lane and potentially massive natural resource?

Posted by: Canuck   2006-01-27 11:08  

#10  It is just too damn cold up there for US to really care about it....
Posted by: mmurray821   2006-01-27 11:07  

#9  LOL, BH.

Best (underated) comedy ever! "Steamroller, eh?"

Hey, Harper! All your ice floes are belong to US!
Posted by: JDB   2006-01-27 10:44  

#8  "This is our Line of Death, eh? Do not cross our Line of Death."
Posted by: BH   2006-01-27 10:06  

#7  Hawkbill is SSN 666 RD
Posted by: 6   2006-01-27 10:04  

#6  "The United States defends its sovereignty,...

Not true where Mexico is concerned.
Posted by: Bomb-a-rama   2006-01-27 09:56  

#5  I suppose it's a reasonable tradeoff. We don't put up too much of a stink about their claims to the Arctic, and they'll do the same for us regarding the Straits of Hormuz.
Posted by: Perfessor   2006-01-27 09:48  

#4  The BBC's Lee Carter in Toronto says Canada has only recently woken up to the fact that, with global warming being blamed for melting ice in the Arctic, the so-far-mythical northwest passage, which could link the Atlantic and the Pacific, may in fact become a reality.

*sigh*

I wonder if anyone's pointed out to them that even at the largest temperature increase predicted, the Arctic will still be below freezing.
Posted by: Robert Crawford   2006-01-27 09:39  

#3  #6 wots the code?
Posted by: RD   2006-01-27 09:07  

#2  The Beast aka The Devils Own Sub or Hawkbill checks out the NW Passage.
Posted by: 6   2006-01-27 08:44  

#1  The BBC's Lee Carter in Toronto says Canada has only recently woken up to the fact that, with global warming being blamed for melting ice in the Arctic, the so-far-mythical northwest passage, which could link the Atlantic and the Pacific, may in fact become a reality.

This is what they're betting on?
Posted by: tu3031   2006-01-27 08:33  

00:01