W Post
Canada just enlisted Santa Claus in its effort to control the Arctic
* By _Max Fisher_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/max-fisher/2012/10/10/9d0a891e-12e7-11e2-a16b-2c110031514a_page.html)
* (mailto:[email protected]?subject=Reader feedback for
'Canada just enlisted Santa Claus in its effort to control the Arctic') *
December 26, 2013
If it were up to the Canadian government, children all over the world would
have imagined Santa Claus soaring over their rooftops Wednesday while
carrying the dark-blue passport of a Canadian citizen.
Last week, in a _publicity stunt_
(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/canada-issues-santa-claus-a-passport/article16072973/)
meant to show
off the country's new electronic passports, the Canadian immigration
minister announced that "Santa Claus" and "Mrs. Claus" would be granted
Canadian
passports in an official ceremony.
It's a mostly lighthearted story that actually touches on something very
serious: Canada's increasingly expansive claims of sovereignty over the
Arctic, potentially to include the North Pole itself. The Santa passport stunt
hinted at this: The official release explained that the passports had been
issued because "Santa and Mrs. Claus live in North Pole, Canada, with their
many helpers."
It's no joke. As the polar ice caps melt, the Arctic Sea is opening up,
creating new and unclaimed territory for the first time in modern history. The
Arctic is set to become an important shipping route, as well as a major
source of oil and natural gas. The big, unanswered question is, when that
territory opens up, who will control which parts of it? Five countries are
claiming parts of the Arctic: Canada, the United States, Denmark, Norway and
Russia. And one of the most assertive countries in making its Arctic claim
is -- are you sitting down? -- Canada.
The government of conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper has been
expanding Canada's claim to the Arctic, which it wants to include the North
Pole. Canada can't just call "dibs" -- it has to make its claim _with
scientific data_
(http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/five-myths-about-the-north-pole/2013/12/20/22267a62-6694-11e3-8b5b-a77187b716a3_story.html)
proving
that its continental shelf extends into the areas it wants to call its own.
But that process has to go through the United Nations, which opens up the
possibility of diplomatic maneuvering, and the five states have to resolve
any overlapping claims between one another. So there's real room for Canada
to expand its claim.
It would be easy to laugh at the idea of Canada as aggressor -- go ahead, I
won't stop you -- but this is serious business. Russian President Vladimir
Putin is also _seeking control of the North Pole_
(http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/globe-politics-insider/harper-and-putin-jockey-for-pol
e-position-to-take-arctic-bragging-rights/article15863810/) . The Arctic is
becoming increasingly militarized even before it opens up. When the
permanent ice cap does recede, perhaps as early as 2020, no one is entirely
sure
how these five competing countries will handle overlapping claims.
To be clear, that doesn't mean we're ramping up for the great
Canadian-Russian War of 2025. And the process of parceling out Arctic control
is highly
regulated by all sorts of international law and agreements designed to
make it go smoothly. But if the stakes are high enough here that it's bringing
out the territorial expansionist in even Canada, that should tell us
something about the gravity of the great Arctic land-grab.
--
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