Who Owns the Arctic?

                                                               (CCGS Amundsen, Bellot Strait, Nunavut, Oct. 22, 2006)

Who Owns the Arctic?

Understanding Sovereignty Disputes in the North

A new book by Michael Byers

"A much-needed road map for policy makers and an unusually readable guide for every concerned citizen who wants to understand Canada's choices in the Arctic." 

THOMAS BERGER

"Who Owns the Arctic? is a great rebuke to the politicians who are all talk on sovereignty, climate change and the rights of the Inuit, the eternal stewards of Arctic lands."

TONY PENIKETT, former Yukon Premier

"Agree or disagree with him — but there is no ignoring Michael Byers's powerful views on the Arctic."

ROB HUEBERT, Associate Director of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies, University of Calgary

For an interview with the CBC's Peter Mansbridge see: Who Owns the Arctic?  

Published in October 2009 by Douglas & McIntyre 

Pre-order the book now at: Amazon.ca

The Northwest Passage is already Canadian

The proposed name change to Canadian Northwest Passage won't strengthen our claim in international law, and it may well hurt it.

Michael Byers, Globe and Mail, October 27, 2009

Like motherhood and apple pie, Arctic sovereignty is difficult to oppose.

So when Conservative MP Daryl Kramp introduced a motion on Oct. 5 to rename the Northwest Passage the “Canadian Northwest Passage,” the Liberals, NDP and Bloc Québécois quickly jumped on board.

It's time to reconsider that move – before the motion is put to a final vote. Renaming the Northwest Passage would weaken our legal claim, offend the Inuit and contradict centuries of Canadian history.

Breaking the ice

Canada's Arctic policy seems to be shifting to include diplomacy, which will accomplish much more than building ships and bases

Michael Byers, Ottawa Citizen, October 27, 2009

Canada's Arctic policy has taken a promising new tack. In early September, lawyers from the foreign ministries of the five Arctic Ocean coastal states met for negotiations. On the table was a proposal to co-ordinate claims to the Arctic seabed, essentially divvying up the ocean floor between Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia and the United States.

Inuit want say on renaming Northwest Passage

Randy Boswell, Canwest News Service, October 20, 2009

Despite initial indications the planned renaming of the Northwest Passage to the "Canadian Northwest Passage" would have clear sailing through the House of Commons, the idea may be facing rough waters after all.

A major Inuit organization has raised concerns about the proposed symbolic boost to Canada's Arctic sovereignty, arguing any new name should "reflect the history of Inuit use and occupation of the waters in question for thousands of years," Canwest News Service has learned.

Arctic Shipping

Melting ice could transform Alaska economy

Kim Murphy, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 18, 2009

Alaska - Most days in Nome, you're not likely to run into anybody you didn't see at the Breakers Bar on Friday night. More than 500 roadless miles from Anchorage, rugged tundra and frigid Bering Sea waters have a way of discouraging visitors.

So it was a big deal when the World - a 644-foot-long residential cruise ship with condos costing several million dollars apiece - dropped anchor during the summer for a two-day look-see.

Deal on Northwest Passage marine park close: Inuit group

Canadian Press, October 13, 2009

Canada is moving to firm up control over the disputed Northwest Passage by designating the waters of its eastern entrance a national marine conservation area.

The federal and Nunavut governments as well as the regional land claim organization are close to signing a memorandum of understanding intended to make Lancaster Sound Canada's fourth such protected region.

"It's getting close to signature," said Terry Audla, director of the Qikiqtani Inuit Association. "Talks are going on and we'll see how far it gets."

Rechristening Northwest Passage shows Canada’s insecurity, expert fears

Randy Boswell, Ottawa Citizen, October 8, 2009

A Conservative MP’s bid to officially rename the Northwest Passage the “Canadian Northwest Passage” — which garnered praise from all three opposition parties earlier this week — could backfire in the legal arena, says a leading expert on Arctic geopolitics and international law.

Benefits of Inuit role in directing Arctic shipping highlighted

Randy Boswell, Ottawa Citizen, October 2, 2009

The leader of Canada's 50,000 Inuit says the country should strengthen its claims to the disputed Northwest Passage by creating a joint Inuit-federal "authority" to oversee ship traffic in the Arctic sea route.

Canada to bolster Arctic claim with shipping alerts

Randy Boswell, Ottawa Citizen, September 25, 2009

Canada plans to bolster its presence in Arctic waters — and by extension, its sovereignty — after agreeing to join Russia and Norway in providing weather and shipping alerts in the rapidly melting region.

Arctic trail blazers make history

Artyom Liss,  BBC News, Arkhangel, September 19, 2009

Two German ships have become the first Western commercial vessels to navigate the Northeast Passage - a shipping route which goes from Asia to Europe around the Russian Arctic.

One of the captains told the BBC that their journey opened new, exciting possibilities for the whole international shipping community.

Foreign ships in North underline sovereignty issues for Canada

Randy Boswell, Ottawa Citizen, September 12, 2009

A historic voyage this week by two German cargo ships across the Northern Sea Route above Russia highlights the challenges — and potential missed opportunities — confronting Canada in the Arctic, says a leading expert on polar issues.

UBC professor Michael Byers, whose book Who Owns the Arctic? is being launched this month, says the transit of the German vessels in the company of Russian icebreakers — widely reported Friday as a landmark commercial passage from East Asia to Western Europe via Arctic waters — underscores Canada's current inability in the Northwest Passage to match Russia's readiness to exploit economic opportunities and assert sovereignty in the melting polar realm.