Sunday, June 2, 2019

Canada Makes A Move In The Arctic, Claims The North Pole: "Santa is Canadian eh"

This is not the first time Canada has made the claim but now it's in a formal submission to the U.N.

From High North News, May 28:

Canada Makes Substantial Step in Arctic Territory Delimitation, Submits Claim Which Includes North Pole

After years of research, the Canadian government submitted a 2100-page report to the United Nations regarding its Arctic continental shelf delimitation.
After more than a decade of research, Canada took a significant step in defining its territorial map and further staking its claim in the Arctic, when it filed a submission with the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf at the United Nations in New York City on Thursday May 23.
The 2,100 page document was submitted by Pamela Goldsmith-Jones, parliamentary secretary to the minister of foreign affairs, on behalf of Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Chrystia Freeland. The move was touted by the government as a critical step in asserting Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic, and “serving the interests” of all people, including Indigenous groups. 

“Canada is a proud ocean nation. The filing of the Arctic Ocean continental shelf submission is a major milestone in delivering on the government’s priority to define the outer limits of Canada’s continental shelf. Today we are taking a major step forward in ensuring Canada’s Arctic sovereignty,” Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard said of the submission. 

The research was based on 17 expeditions to the Arctic, in which data was collected and interpreted by scientists from Natural Resources Canada (Geographical Survey of Canada), and Fisheries and Oceans Canada (Canadian Hydrographic Service). Other agencies and actors, including the territorial governments of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Coast Guard, Defence Research and Development Canada, Indigenous peoples, and the Department of National Defence, contributed to the data collection. Additionally, the Canadian government collaborated with Denmark, Sweden, and the United States in the form of join surveys and other scientific work. A press release from the Canadian government states that the efforts have “exponentially increased the scientific knowledge of the Arctic Ocean and opened a new chapter in the understanding of its history, geology and geomorphology.” The resulting claim is over 1.2 million square kilometres of seabed and subsoil, including the North Pole. If the submission is approved, Canada will have exclusive rights to resources underneath this water. 

The continental shelf debate is a relatively recent phenomenon. Until the start of the new millennium, both the North Pole and much of the Arctic Ocean were considered neutral territory. However, as climate change has caused ice to recede and opened up new economic opportunities in this region, a number of countries have made claims to territory in the north.....
....MORE
https://www.highnorthnews.com/sites/default/files/styles/media_image/public/2019-05/map_canada.jpg?itok=PABGax9z
Map provided by Government of Canada

Russia planted a flag on the seabed at the North Pole 
(and were promptly reminded it was no longer the 16th century and things were done differently these days)

https://s.newsweek.com/sites/www.newsweek.com/files/2015/08/04/russian-flag-north-pole.jpg

And the U.S. even disputes Canada's claim to the Northwest Passage much less the Pole, meanwhile submitting photographic evidence of humanitarian aid at the Pole:

https://sioseis.ucsd.edu/Arctic05_slides/Arctic_small/55.jpg

That's the U.S. Coast Guard's icebreaker Healy in the background.

The Canadians have done this before, also citing spurious "evidence":
"Santa Claus lives and pays taxes in Canada, government affirms"
But this is just an extension of Canadian perfidy in other areas.
See also: 
False Bacon of Hope: "150 Years of Canadian Culinary History"