September 7, 2010

Defending our sovereignty in the Arctic

Marshall Horne with the Commanding Officer of HMCS Montréal Commander Real Brisson during Operation NANOOK 2010.Since 2002, the Canadian Navy has been renewing its presence in the Arctic. With experts agreeing climate change will result in a much more accessible circumpolar world, the Navy must have the ability to protect Canada’s northern maritime interests. Consequently, annual exercises ensure the Navy has the skills today to operate in tomorrow’s bustling Arctic.

The Navy’s return north is also being conducted to solidify several outstanding issues within Canada’s national sovereignty. In one case, Canada’s authority to enforce national regulations over maritime transit in the Northwest Passage is disputed. Dissenting countries argue transits should abide by more lax guidelines that regulate international straits. Nonetheless, if the Northwest Passage is truly Canadian, Canada must demonstrate it has the ability to enforce its interests over the waterway. Prime Minister Stephen Harper famously simplified this by arguing Canada’s Arctic sovereignty is currently subject to a “use it, or lose it” situation.

Operation NANOOK is one example of how Canada is “using it.”

Horne onboard USS Porter with HDMS Vaedderen in the background.By including all three services of the Canadian Forces and representation from other governmental agencies, NANOOK is the largest sovereignty operation that annually occurs within the Canadian Arctic. Critically, it is the only sovereignty operation that includes vessels from the Canadian Navy. NANOOK ’10 included HMC Ships Glace Bay, Goose Bay, and Montréal. But, for the first time, vessels from the Royal Danish navy, the U. S. navy, and the U.S. Coast Guard also participated under Canadian command.

This August, PhD student Marshall Horne from the University of Calgary’s Centre for Military and Strategic Studies had a rare opportunity to observe NANOOK ’10 onboard HMCS Montréal.

Horne’s studies focus upon the international legal challenges to Canada’s Arctic sovereignty and the emerging role of the Navy at enforcing northern interests. Yet NANOOK ’10 allowed Horne to observe how Arctic nations can work together to overcome their polar differences. After reading, studying, and writing about sovereignty operations for three years, observing one firsthand was an unparalleled experience for Horne to further develop his studies and help alter understandings about Canada’s Arctic sovereignty.