Vanguard Magazine

14 AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2018 www.vanguardcanada.com ArCtiC more secure now? Is the Canadian A lthough there is no per- ceived military threat to the Canadian Arctic at the moment, a number of sov- ereignty issues have yet to be resolved: the maritime boundary in the Lincoln Sea between Denmark and Cana- da, Hans Island, the Alaska-Yukon border extension into the ocean, the extension of continental shelves, and more important- ly, the recognition of the strait base line method to define the internal waters of Canada in the Arctic. The latter affects the status of the Northwest Passage. The gov- ernment must make sure that it exercises its full sovereignty over these waters. That requires the ability to monitor increasing human activities on and below the surface and to enforce our regulations and laws. Strong Secure Engaged, Canada's De- fence Policy of 2017 clearly highlights the Arctic as a sector of priority. The word Arctic appears 77 times in the document. The policy provides the cornerstone docu- ment that will guide the Canadian Forces' efforts to monitor the Canadian Arctic and act as required. 2017 was the second warmest year on record. The ice in the Canadian Arctic was also at its second lowest point since satel- BY COLONEL (RET'D) PIERRE LEBLANC Arctic lite tracking began in the 1970s. The ship- ping season in the Arctic is getting longer and is allowing greater and easier access throughout the Arctic Archipelago. Dur- ing the summer of 2017, over 178 ships made more than 400 trips in the Arctic. There is more mineral exploration and exploitation taking place now that access all year around is made easier. The Baf- finland Iron Mines Corporation's Mary River mine on Baffin Island is a prime ex- ample. In 2017, 55 trips of bulk carriers shipped over four million tons of iron ore from the northern tip of Baffin Island to Europe. Arctic tourism is becoming more popular. Several cruise ship companies are in the process of building an additional 22 ice-capable cruise ships. Silversea Cruises Ltd is even planning an Arctic circumpolar voyage for 2019. The number of polar flights over the Arc- tic has also increased. These are flights that connect New York to New Delhi directly over the North Pole for example. Those flights are possible today because aircraft have longer legs and Russia has opened its airspace to commercial traffic. Although the airlines find these routes more conve- nient and economical, they represent both a risk and a responsibility in terms of air traffic management and search and rescue. Canada did commit to improve its capabil- ity to execute search and rescue missions under the Arctic Council's Agreement on Cooperation on Aeronautical and Mari- time Search and Rescue in the Arctic. Present strategic assets In 2000, Canadian Forces Northern Area (CFNA), the precursor of Joint Task Force

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