Territorial Disputes and Mineral Exploitation

  

   I've really only recently discovered that there is a major seaway connecting Atlantic and Pacific Oceans called the Northwest Passage.  I find it stupid, for lack of a better term, that countries other than Canada would believe the passage be an international strait or transit passage that would allow free passage.  With our changing climate this Northwest Passage has become more accessible throughout the year with less ice in the way for more navigable waters.  Now other countries are claiming that this water should not belong to just Canada but for any international ships to be connecting through.    This simple photo really shows that the straight goes right between Canada's land. I don't really understand how there can be a dispute about this.

http://www.athropolis.com/graphics/arcticmap-nwpass.gif

    What I found really interesting about the idea of the Northwest Passage being considered an international straight, would be the house keeping involved with it being international.   I've recently been interested in articles on the Pacific Oceans new twenty first century garbage island. (You can read more about the island at http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/translating-uncle-sam/stories/what-is-the-great-pacific-ocean-garbage-patch if interested.)  This large accumulation of garbage is a result of everyone using the pacific ocean and adding their waste. If Canada allows the Northwest Passage as an international straight, who would be responsible for cleaning up problems that could result, such as a large garbage island.  Because the water access is in Canada, this will effect us primarily, and will be our problem to fix.  This is why we should be able to restrict access to the passage.  Although I'm curious if Argentina has attempted to restrict access between Atlantic and Pacific, or if South Africa restricts any access between the Indian Ocean, Southern Ocean and Atlantic Ocean.  

  Other land claims make more sense to me. There has been  land disputes between Canada and the Kingdom of Denmark (Greenland) between islands that were not marked as either Canadian or Danish.  Hans Island is a good example of this.  My favourite part of this land dispute is how the countries are dealing with it.  Our Danish neighbors began by pitching their flag on the island with a bottle of their finest shnappes (I'm hoping it was Aalborg Akvavit, my favourite!) at the base. The Canadians replied to this by leaving their flag, and a bottle of Canadian Club.   I think this mode of land claims seems to be much more entertaining than bombing either side.  To read more about this land dispute visit the website at http://www.canadiangeographic.ca/hansIsland/background.asp.

   I'm thinking that this last land claim will be settled more easily because it doesn't hold the weight of natural resources that seem to be the root cause for territorial disputes over the north.  If this were up to the traditional Inuit people I'm sure they would agree that no one really owns the land, but we are all apart of it. Unfortunately this is not how the world solves its issues. 

http://www.damianijewellers.com/canadian_diamonds.asp

  Luckily for Canada we have recently found a new valuable mineral we have been extracting.  Diamond mining in Northern Canada has really only started since in the 1980's which started with one man who spent his last dollars on a chartered plane up north and the dream to strike it rich.  Canada has become the third most valuable country in the world for Diamond mines. To learn more about Canadian Diamonds, visit the website at http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/diamonds/

  Unfortunately for the miners Canada also has very strict environmental laws protecting the wildlife and landscape up north as well.  Pros and Cons can be weighed in the diamond mining business including giving jobs to Northern Aboriginals that allows them to support their traditional lifestyles and to help buy equipment to adapt and change with our growing populations.  Major negatives to the diamond mining operations include the large scale contamination to water, and the displacement of migration patters and habitat for wildlife.  I found an older article from 2006 in which first nations people claimed diamond miners to be causing devastating problems to their communities.  This makes me question whether Canada's environmental laws are really protecting Canadians as much as they should be. Read more at http://www.cbc.ca/news/story/2006/12/08/conflict-diamond.html

  Another issue were going to be looking out for is the land and territory disputes in the North over resources. I found some more info on territitorial disputes between Canada, the U.S., Norway, Russia and Denmark at http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jul/06/arctic-resources-territorial-dispute and http://individual.utoronto.ca/seva/on_thin_ice.pdf