1. Intro to: International Law
Issue: Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty

2. State Sovereignty Definition: Paradox since the 20th century
the lawful control by a state over its territory,
the right to govern in that territory,
the authority to apply law there to the exclusion of other states
Paradox since the 20th century
States had fought for complete sovereignty among their own territory
The development of transportation and other technologies led states to trade with each other and develop treaties to govern those interactions.
These treaties limited the sovereignty of states

3. Small World Between the 1930s – 2000 the world population tripled
Immigration and travel increased
People and companies had multijurisdictional ties that needed a legal framework within which to operate
International commercial enterprises needed to be regulated
Multinational corporations demanded legally regulated financial protections from arbitrary state action when they invested overseas

4. Population Chart

5. Human Rights
Support for international law, especially as a tool for human rights protection, received a dramatic boost through the events of WWII
The international community was ill equipped to deal with the Nazi atrocities
The international community came together to judge and punish war criminals which created the law that underlay the Nuremburg trials
It became clear that a wide range of human activity needed to be regulated on an international basis

6. Regulation of Space Exploration
Space vehicle over-flight and remote sensing from satellites meant that traditional ideas of exclusive territorial state sovereignty had to be reconsidered
On October 4, 1957, the Soviet Union successfully launched Sputnik I, an unmanned space satellite that circled Earth every 96 minutes
the international community responded by creating rules to govern this new activity

7. Paradox: Sovereignty vs. interdependence
The need to coordination actions among states have given rise to initiatives that limit action by individual states
States willingly surrendered some freedom to gain political, economic, or scientific advantages of cooperation
The term International Law now describes not only the regulations among states but also how states handle such matters as human rights within their borders

8. Canadian Issue: Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty
Canada’s Arctic occupies a strategic location politically and economically
It contains sought after natural resources
It underlies important air communications routes from the US to Europe
It sites between navigation routes from the eastern seaboard of the US to Alaska

9. Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty 2
Canada declares the waters between the mainland and the Arctic islands to be internal Canadian waters
Canada’s claims have been challenged by the US who sent an ice-strengthened super-tanker through the Northwest Passage to test the possibility of oil transport from Alaska’s North Slope to the US eastern seaboard in 1969

10. Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty 3 Northwest Passage

11. Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty 4
With the polar ice cap melting, a possible maritime route – the Northwest Passage – is opening up
US commercial ships will want to go through Canada’s territory because it is a shortcut of more than 4000 nautical miles when compared to the current route through the Panama Canal
European ships travelling to Asia will also have a significantly shorter trip by using the Northwest Passage

12. Northwest Passage vs. Panama Canal

13. Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty 5
The US and other maritime powers do not accept Canada’s claim to sovereignty over the waters of the Arctic archipelago
The environment and fragile ecosystem would be greatly effected by an unregulated shipping route

14. Canada’s Arctic Sovereignty Activity
In groups of 3 discuss the opinions on the issue of Canadian claims to sovereignty in the North.
Discuss:
Is this opinion valid? Explain why or why not?
Should Canada send military to protect its claim?
Should Canada provide the Inuit people more support to strengthen its settlement of the Arctic?
Why does the prospect of global warming make the issue of sovereignty in Arctic waters more pressing?
How does the use of Arctic waters by US nuclear submarines affect Canada’s claims to sovereignty?
Write: Would you support measures by the Canadian government to assert sovereignty in Arctic waters? Explain