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Breaking the Ice: Who Owns the Northwest Passage?
Presented by Marianne Kenney
Social Studies Instructional Specialist
Denver Public Schools
Shameless Plug• Attended:
– 2009 Study Canada Summer Institute• Created lesson plan “Breaking the Ice: Who
Owns the Northwest Passage?”
– 2010 Northeast Canadian Studies Summer Institute “Quebec Dimension”• Created lesson plan “The New Quebecers”
Turn and Talk
• Rate your knowledge…– 4 Wizard: I should be sitting in your seat– 3 Proficient: I know about this– 2 Regular: I have some familiarity– 1 Novice: I am not familiar with this…yet!
Arctic Issues
– How would you rate your knowledge of the following issues?• Current events related to the Northwest
Passage• Climate Change in the Arctic• Politics surrounding “sovereignty”• Economic rights to resources lying under Arctic
waters
The Big Picture
Goal:• Learn about
economic issues surrounding race for Arctic resources and territory
© NASA
Climate ChangeProjected Ice Extent – 2010-2090
Source: ACIA
Unimaginable?
• By the year 2020 if the race for the Arctic is not resolved, a real polar war could break out over the scramble for oil and gas
• Jane’s International Defense Review, a British think tank, warns
Oil and Gas
Oil and Gas: Resources of the North
Source: AMAP
The Northwest Passage
© CASES
Lesson: Who Owns the Northwest Passage”?
• Student Scenario
Guidelines for Maritime Disputes
• Canada’s position• UNCLOS:
International set of legal standards about regulations of the seas
• US and other Arctic nations position
The Northwest Passage
• Principal nations are the six Arctic nations:– Russia– United States– Norway– Denmark
(Greenland)– Iceland– Canada © CASES
Defending Sovereignty
• “Canada has a choice when it comes to defending our sovereignty over the Arctic. We either use it or lose it. And make no mistake, this government intends to use it.”
• Prime Minister Stephen Harper
Passage Pioneers
• Roald Amundsen, August 1905, first successful navigation. Aboard the Gjoa (Oslo-Pacific).
• St-Roch, 1944, Northern Deep-Water Route.
• Sedna IV, August-November 2002, sailed from Magdalen Island to Vancouver.
• What’s next? © CASES
Economic Issues
• Tourism• Ownership• Oil and gas
reserves• Fisheries• Shipping
Oslo to Tokyo
Total travel distance for a one-way trip from Norway to Japan:
• Via Panama Canal: 24 000 km• Via Cape Horn: 35 000 km• Via Suez Canal (Asian Route): 21 500 km• Via Northwest Passage: 14 500 km
• Is the Northwest Passage shipping route between Europe and Asia safe and secure?
• Who has rights to the resources lying under the seabed?
• Is the Northwest Passage an "international strait" or, as Canada claims, "internal waters?
• What of the Inuit claim that sea ice constitutes traditional territory?
Burning Issues
In Conclusion
• Climate Change is Transforming the Arctic
• New Perceptions• Realities of
Accessibility
Thank you!
Marianne Kenney
Denver Public Schools
“Who Owns the Northwest Passage?” K-12 Study Canada website
http://www.k12studycanada.org/files/lesson_plans/2009SCSI_KenneyM_WhoControlsNWPassage_Gr_9_12.pdf
Questions
