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U.S., Canada Should Jointly Manage Arctic Waters, Says High-Profile Group

Posted on: Wednesday, 20 February 2008, 18:00 CST

By Bob Weber, THE CANADIAN PRESS

The United States and Canada should forget arguments over who owns the Northwest Passage and instead jointly manage Arctic waters, academics and former diplomats from both sides urge in a new report.

The group, which includes one-time American ambassador Paul Celluci, says the two countries should co-operate on everything from search and rescue to environmental management to building new icebreakers.

"Neither one of us want a big oil spill on our northern shores," said Scott Borgerson, one of 13 people who helped develop the report and a fellow at the influential U.S. Council on Foreign Relations.

Some form of agreement with the U.S. is both inevitable and desirable, said Rob Huebert of the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies at the University of Calgary.

"We gain the ability to start planning in the North without worrying that the moment something happens the Americans are going to challenge us and create all the political difficulties for a Canadian decision-maker," he said.

The group has sent a list of nine recommendations to the two governments. They include a suggestion that the U.S. and Canada jointly develop rules on stopping ships in northern waters and on environmental, navigation and safety standards. They also call on the two countries to co-operate on immigration, search and rescue, and surveillance.

Canadian and American authorities should also "maximize burden-sharing opportunities" in the construction of new icebreakers, as is done on the Great Lakes, the report says.

The group also recommends an Arctic navigation commission to address ongoing concerns over northern waters. It would be along the lines of the International Joint Commission, which oversees disputes over other boundary waters.

Both American and Canadian members agreed that easing concerns over sovereignty is a political challenge for both sides. Canada regards the Arctic as its own while the U.S. doesn't want its activities in northern waters restricted because it fears that would establish a precedent for straits currently acknowledged as international.

"The problem for the Canadian leader is: how do you actually start talking to the Americans without immediately having accusations that you're selling out on Canadian sovereignty?" said Huebert.

Both countries have strong arguments, said Celluci, but that shouldn't stop them from reaching agreements on immediate practical matters - especially as melting sea ice opens Arctic waters to increasing traffic.

"The fact that we have this dispute is no excuse not to get ready for the (shipping) volume that may be up there in 15 or 20 years," he said.

"It's really an extension of (NAFTA). It's one of the ways we continue to integrate our economies. We ought to have protocols in place that we help each other out when we need to. It's clearly in our interest to do this together."

Huebert said an agreement would force the Canadian government to finally deal with Arctic navigation.

"When push comes to shove, we could probably go ahead and do a lot of this (on our own) if we were willing to put the dollars where our mouth is. Part of the problem is that we're trying to do this on the cheap."

However, if only because Canadian waters are bordered on the west by Alaska, some agreement with the U.S. will be needed, Huebert added.

"If you take the long-term perspective, you are going to need American participation."

Source: Canadian Press

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