Is the Harper government lying about wanting to protect the Arctic for Canadians?

by Peggy Chang

The Stephen Harper government's stated commitment to protect Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic appears to be little more than political theatre for the mass-media. That's apparently the reason, in part, for keeping the so-called "Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America" (SPP) so secretive. After all, Harper government would be far less popular if SPP discussions were open to reveal a process of further seeking to make Canada a colony of the U.S. in the Arctic via an anti-democratic North American Union (NAU).

"Ottawa's July 2007 decision to establish a military facility in Resolute Bay in the Northwest Passage was not intended to reassert "Canadian sovereignty. In fact quite the opposite. It was established in consultation with Washington. A deep-water port at Nanisivik, on the northern tip of Baffin Island is also envisaged," documents learned University of Ottawa Professor Michel Chossudovsky, in his article "North American Integration and the Militarization of the Arctic," that he published on 20 August 2007/

"The U.S. [Bush] administration is firmly behind the Canadian government's decision. The latter does not "reassert Canadian sovereignty". Quite the opposite. It is a means to eventually establish full U.S territorial control over Canada's entire Arctic region including its waterways."

"Under the renegotiated North American Aerospace Defense Agreement (NORAD), the U.S. military has access to Canada's domestic territorial waters including Canada's sea shelf with the Arctic, which coincidentally also provides Washington under the guise of "North American sovereignty" with a justification to challenge Russia in the Arctic."

"Washington's objective is to secure territorial control, on behalf of the Anglo-American oil giants, over extensive Arctic oil and natural gas reserves. The Arctic region could hold up to 25% of the World's oil and gas reserves, according to some estimates. (Moscow Times, 3 August 2007). These estimates are corroborated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS): "he real possibility exists that you could have another world class petroleum province like the North Sea." (quoted by CNNMoney.com, 25 October 2006)."

The Harper government seeks a claim of sovereignty not on behalf of Canadians, but on behalf of the far-right wing interests of the U.S. political-military-industrial complex, that he substantively represents further elaborates Professor Chossudovsky.

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