Canada's Arctic sovereignty : Report of the Standing Committee on National Defence

Maxime Bernier, P. C., M. P. Chair JUNE 2010 40th PARLIAMENT, 3rd SESSION Published under the authority of the Speaker of the House of Commons SPEAKER’S PERMISSION Reproduction of the proceedings of the House of Commons and its Committees, in whole or in part and in any medium, is hereby permitted provided that the reproduction is accurate and is not presented as official. [...] This entails the capability to survey and control Canadian territory, waters and airspace; the capability to deter attacks on Canadian territory, waters and airspace; and the capability to assist governments in Canada, when required in maintaining domestic peace and security.5 With respect to the overall issue of Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic, the testimony heard generally consists of two sch [...] These include disagreements over Hans Island with the Danes, the Beaufort Sea with the Americans and the Northwest Passage with the Americans and the European Union among others.11 With respect to the latter, Kessel told our Committee that no one disputes the fact that these are Canadian waters. [...] The directive also speaks to the need for protecting the environment, the need for strengthening institutions for cooperation among the Arctic nations, the importance of involving the Arctic’s indigenous communities in decisions that affect them, the need to enhance scientific monitoring and research, and the need to consider new or enhanced international arrangements for the Arctic to address iss [...] Given the historic disadvantages that have been “imposed” upon them, we recommend: That the government do more to recognize the important historic contributions made by Canada’s Indigenous peoples to Arctic sovereignty and that, in light of the commitments made in the 2010 Throne Speech and concerns raised before this Committee, the government act on a priority basis to ensure the development and