Canada makes show of force over disputed Arctic territory

[Anarcho-Socialist]

Canada makes show of force over disputed Arctic territory
By David Usborne in New York
Published: 24 August 2005

Three Canadian warships were steaming through Arctic waters as Ottawa displayed a new and almost bellicose determination to protect the sovereignty of its northernmost boundaries.

The Shawinigan and the Glace Bay docked in Churchill on Sunday, marking a return by the navy to the remote port on the shores of the Hudson Bay for the first time in 30 years. Meanwhile, a third frigate, the HMCS Fredericton, was travelling towards eastern Arctic waters.

The Fredericton is ostensibly there to impose fishing regulations but is expected to pass close to a tiny island that has become the subject of diplomatic head-butting between Canada and Denmark. Both claim the barren rock, named Hans Island.

For years, Canada has taken its control of the vast northern region mostly for granted. But with the melting of polar ice providing access for shipping, the government is anxious about possible territorial rivalries with Norway, Russia and the United States as well as Denmark.

More at: http://news.independent.co.uk/world/americas/article307841.ece

[Canuckistanian]

1. Churchill? I've been to Churchill

Wonderful place, Churchill.

[wli]

2. Canada standing up for itself = good

[MercutioATC]

3. Hey! Canadian ships have guns! ...well, at least one gun...

http://www.fortunecity.com/marina/havana/88/ffh337.htm