NorthWest Passage

Today's Globe talks about the NorthWest passage being free of ice and open for shipping.

Regardless of why (and we can talk about global warming endlessly) the opening of the NorthWest passage (if not a one time fluke) poses all kinds of issues for Canada.

Is the waterway an internal Canadian passage (we say so)? And if so, does Canada have enough naval support to defend the passage (maybe and maybe not)? Or will we have to rely on American naval support (which means allowing, in practice, unlimited US use of the passage)?

Now America is a democracy and Canada's closest ally -- I'd prefer to rely on American support rather than, say, that of China -- but if we can't defend our waters perhaps we need to boost our naval power? (And perhaps even buy the boats in Canada -- but that's yet another post).

Frozen Northwest Passage expected to open up

TU THANH HA
Globe and Mail

Even though this summer's ice melt hasn't approached last year's record conditions, the once-frozen Northwest Passage through Canada's Arctic is expected to open again soon, for only the second time in recorded history.

Already, a shallower, more southern route has freed up, according to high-resolution sea ice charts extracted from satellite microwave imagery by German researchers at the University of Bremen's Institute of Environmental Physics.

The more traditional Northwest Passage route, further north, is still clogged but it could be ice-free later this month, said Mark Serreze, a senior researcher at the University of Colorado's National Snow and Ice Data Center."Our view is that it may well open in the next few weeks," he said in an interview yesterday.

Full story here:

http://m.avantgo.com/ui?ag_url=52616e646f6d4956cba9ffae5db9c437f69240e15893747cedd8586619affea03c61fc434fb6f9325d731b6b6f1a7d9870abeb49665cbb7880ea71f9ef8a01e9aa47653c249338125c446b2b3daed10b&ag_channel=4179&showNav=0&ms=globeandmail

James Morton
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