Use it or lose it, Canada

Failure to invest in our future today will only create problems tomorrow

Michael Silicz, staff

A defining struggle of this century will be the race to secure control of the Arctic. The vast tracts of land and bountiful stretches of sea that make up the Arctic Circle, combined with the geopolitical and economic interests of multiple countries that claim the North’s riches, will one day lead to intense international competition for control of the region. Luckily for Canada, the Harper government has begun to address this challenge positively. However, these first steps are not enough, and Canada must act now by continuing to expand our influence in the North.

Why has the Arctic region suddenly become such a contested topic? After all, the Arctic has remained a sparsely populated tundra for millennia. However, the rapid onset of climate change that has bought the North to the forefront of attention. There are two main reasons why the Arctic has become so important — the first is economic and the second is strategic — and both reasons are the result of global warming.

Climate change will open up new economic opportunities in the North, specifically through the mining of oil, minerals, and various precious metals in a more temperate climate. But the key issue here is the opening of the Northwest Passage for commercial shipping use as ice in the region melts away. Considering that the Northwest Passage cuts the shipping distance between Asia and Europe by 5,000 kilometres compared to the current route through the Panama Canal, it should be clear as to why countries will want to have control of the region. There is a growing consensus that within the next two decades, the Northwest Passage will become navigable during the summer months. Furthermore, the Passage may very well be free of ice entirely by the middle of the century. Whichever country controls the Northwest Passage secures the right to control who gets access to it, and of course, at what price.

Equally important as the economic potentialities of the North are its political implications, specifically in terms of strategic military implications. The continual melting of ice in the Arctic ice means that fortress North America may soon have another border to defend, a border that may be easily reached by other countries for the first time in our history. The geographical proximity of Russia to the North American mainland for example, should be a cause of great concern to any Canadian, or American, for that matter. History is full of examples as to the lengths Russia has gone to secure access to bodies of water; from the creation of St. Petersburg itself, to the imperialistic dreams of a port on the Black Sea, all the way to the recent Russian $2-billion fortification of the port of Murmansk. With little urban development in the North, let alone military presence, Canada will need to increase its presence substantially.

The Conservative government has taken commendable steps over the past six months to address these concerns. The Harper government has announced that six to eight new arctic patrol ships are being built in Canada to patrol the north, and that Resolute and Nanisivik (both towns along the Northwest Passage) will be the sites of two new military installations. It was also just announced that the federal government has given Churchill a total of $48 million to improve the port’s infrastructure and commercial attractiveness, further staking claim to the region. As well, over $150 million will be spent on scientific exploration in the North. These are all steps in the right direction, as this will increase the legitimacy of the Canadian claim to the region.

However, this is not enough. It is going to take more than a few icebreakers and experiments to fend off Russian and Danish (and even American) claims against Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Passage. Greater infrastructure and economic development is a must, and an increased military presence is of the utmost necessity. Most of all, international trade must be increased in existing northern ports to establish a precedent of Canadian intentions in this regard. The federal government should provide far more economic incentive to stimulate northern development and should aim to increase population density throughout the region as soon as possible.

The situation is simple — Canada must be ready to defend its sovereignty in the North, or face the prospect of other countries contesting it with increasingly audacious incursions. While these recent announcements by the Harper government are great first steps, much more is needed. Securing sovereignty now will serve to delegitimize any future foreign interference in the region by both the Russians and Americans.

Harper has it right when he says, in terms of sovereignty, “Either we use it or we lose it. And make no mistake — this government intends to use it.” For the sake of future political stability and Canada’s own national interest, we must continue to use and impose our sovereignty in the North, or risk losing it forever.