Jack: I would argue that the main security threats to the Canadian Arctic are threefold:
The first is rapidly becoming a widely discussed topic in most corners of the world; that of environmental pollution. The Canadian Arctic has suffered under the burden of marine and air pollution, most of it stemming from Cold War activities. Part of this is due to the influence of military activity and the pollution that became directly responsible for (particularly in the post Cold War years, where a large number of military sites were deemed surplus and abandoned, allowing chemical waste to seep into the environment as they deteriorated) but also the secondary effects, such as military patrols causing animal migration patterns to be affected and therefore having unforeseen effects on the natural routes those animals would take. Then, of course, there comes the product of that waste: climate change. This is resulting in the thawing of permafrost in the Arctic, as well as transforming areas that are normally frozen over into open sea. In addition to the effects that this has on Canadian wildlife, it contributes to the other two points I plan to raise.
The second threat to the Canadian Arctic is due to the increased accessibility that its thawing ice offers. With the Arctic becoming increasingly easy to navigate as the climate changes, it opens a new range of possibilities for a whole range of risks not just to the Arctic, but to Canada as a whole. Perhaps the least threatening of these is that drug smugglers could attempt to use the Arctic as a new way to access the country, but in a world where terrorism is on everyone's mind, it must be considered that those organisations would also attempt to find new paths not only into Canada, but past its southern border rather than attempting direct access to the USA. There is also the risk that members of organised crime rings would attempt to exploit the Arctic for any natural resources that are being freed from the permafrost before the government is able to secure it.
The final security risk faced by the Canadian Arctic is the attempts by other countries to impose upon Canada's sovereign lands and waters, primarily the Northwest Passage (considered internal by Canada rather than international as claimed by other countries), the claim on Hans Island (disputed by Denmark) and the dispute with the USA over the maritime border in the Beaufort Sea. All of these examples pose a risk to Canada's sovereignty and authority, while the last two also pose a monetary risk with the potential loss of natural resources.
So, how should Canada go about combating these threats to the Arctic? The revitalization of the Canadian Rangers in 2006 certainly serves as a good starting point as far as preventing military threats in the Arctic is concerned, as well as making it mandatory for ships sailing into the Arctic to register with NODREG from 2008. Canada has also certainly shown that it is willing to exercise its sovereignty in the area with the arrangement in 2006 to extend the NORAD agreement with the US indefinitely. While negotiations with Denmark regarding Hans Island are ongoing, Canada has certainly shown that it is not going to easily let go of its Arctic territory, with the most likely solutions as of 2012 being either condominium or splitting the disputed island in half (which would also result in a second Canada-Denmark land border). Climate change, unfortunately, is an issue that the world as a whole must work together to combat.
Would you agree or disagree with the assertion that the American transcontinental railroad would have taken longer to complete if not for the Irish Great Famine?
Persus: do you consider my assessment of the Canadian Arctic accurate or inaccurate?
flabort: if I asked you an RVS question, what would your answer be?
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