PM issues Arctic warning (Canada)

Source: Toronto Star

PM issues Arctic warning

Uses Iqaluit visit to reinforce Canadian sovereignty

Aug 19, 2009 11:53 AM

Bruce Campion-Smith
Ottawa bureau chief

ONBOARD HMCS TORONTO — Prime Minister Stephen Harper took the controls of a Sea King helicopter today and later boarded a submarine vowing that Canada will protect its north.

Harper used a visit to the frontlines of Operation Nanook, a sovereignty exercise underway near Iqaluit, to bolster Canada's claim to its vast northern territory, warning that other nations are already "probing" Canadian turf.

"We must never forget that just as the eyes of southern Canadians gaze northward, so too do those beyond our borders," Harper said this morning during a visit to HMCS Toronto as it cruised in Frobisher Bay.

"With other countries probing our north — by sea and in the air — the work you are doing here to protect our sovereignty has never been more important," Harper told sailors gathered on the ship's bow.

But the most dramatic moment of his visit came when he rode a small Zodiac boat across the water to board HMCS Corner Brook, a Victoria-class submarine. In a spray of water and air, the sub slipped below the icy waters, taking Harper on a 30-minute trip.


Read more: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/682892

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This is a result of global warming. Vast natural resources which are under the ice, will become accessible as the ice melts. Russia, Canada, and Denmark have made claims in the Arctic, with Russia using a minisub to plant a flag on the continental shelf. The US has been making noises about international waters, a claim we usually make when the maps don't agree with our greed.

Canada is boosting its defense budget, in part due to concerns about their share of the Arctic.

Meanwhile the polar bears are on the verge of extinction.

HMCS = Her Majesty's Canadian Submarine(?), I assume.

I misunderstood you.

just like his hero, Bush.

Had his personal photographer filming everything too, so we'll see it in the next election campaign.

....obviously Canadians need a little less healthcare and a little more military spending....

....maybe if Canada promises go to a private insurance system for healthcare, Washington might help them build a fine war-machine....

If they hit turbulence and he fell out and went splat?

The exercise, which will conclude Aug. 28, is partly meant to demonstrate Canada's sovereignty in the North, in an area where Russian and American subs have long prowled.

Canada has also been in quarrels with Denmark over control of Hans Island, but they quietly began forging closer military links recently.

But Western Arctic New Democrat MP Dennis Bevington, whose riding encompasses the Northwest Territories, said Canada shouldn't be flexing its military muscle if it wants to resolve territorial disputes with Russia and the U.S.

"Those are not issues that are going to be settled by Canadian military might," Bevington said. "Those are only going to be settled through negotiation with, you know, our largest partner in the world."
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/08/19/harper-nanook-arctic-north-sovereignty414.html

That cat is a dork!

Take off you hoser! If Canada is ever invaded, either Britain or the US is going to have to bail them out. If the Naval Base at Halifax is any indication, Canada's Navy is a farce. It was just mentioned they'd bought a couple of second-hand ships and a sub. It was really quite sorry-looking. If defense isn't a big priority, fine. Just don't go making threats you cannot carry out.

His neo-con attitude has proven false in Vietnam, Iraq and now Afghanistan.

or Iraq?

was the US. Five times in fact.

After we burned down the White House, they were less inclined to do so.

Im pretty sure its quite a bit more complicated than that. Im not sure where you read that, but as far as I am aware, everyone is sticking to researching continental shelves to see what belongs to whom based on what is attached to which continent. Thats what they said on the CBC at least. A flag anywhere would be essentially laughed at.

National pride or whatever one wants to call it, there is a lot of money at stake in here. Everyone wants their share. In recent elections in Greenland, native people insisted on their share of the pie, autonomy it was called.

Last Updated: Thursday, 2 August 2007, 17:22 GMT 18:22 UK

Russia plants flag under N Pole

Russian explorers have planted their country's flag on the seabed 4,200m (14,000ft) below the North Pole to further Moscow's claims to the Arctic.

The rust-proof titanium metal flag was brought by explorers travelling in two mini-submarines, in what is believed to be the first expedition of its kind.

Both vessels have now rejoined the expedition's ships, completing their risky return journey to the surface.

Canada, which also claims territory in the Arctic, has criticised the mission.
"This isn't the 15th Century," Canadian Foreign Minister Peter MacKay told the CTV channel.

"You can't go around the world and just plant flags and say 'We're claiming this territory'," he said.

Melting polar ice has led to competing claims over access to Arctic resources.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6927395.stm

"This isn't the 15th Century"

:)

You have to prove your claim is valid. Flags don't suffice

everyone wants a piece of the pie

and here Canada and Russia may go at it.

If someone told me THAT 20 years ago, I would have called them insane.