Arctic sovereignty slogan masks win for military lobby

New ships won't meet civil needs in North, earmarked for military operations elsewhere?

August 10, 2007: In view of Stephen Harper's announcement yesterday of new military spending in the Arctic - with no new money for icebreakers, as promised in the 2006 election campaign - HarperIndex.ca re-posts a timely article from July.

ESQUIMALT, BC, July 10, 2007: The $4.3 billion purchase of "up to eight" naval patrol vessels announced here yesterday by Stephen Harper is ostensibly to enforce Arctic sovereignty. The ships may be of little use for this purpose, however, compared with the ice-breakers Harper has promised and apparently decided not to buy, according to international law expert Michael Byers. He says their purchase indicates a victory for the Department of National Defence (DND) and the military lobby over the civilian Coast Guard and civil needs.

Byers, the Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law at the University of British Columbia, says Arctic sovereignty inflames Canadian passions. The voyages through the Northwest Passage in 1969 by the the American supertanker SS Manhattan and in 1985 by the American icebreaker Polar Sea provoked enormous political outrage, he says.

"I think the prime motivation here is electoral," Byers said in a telephone interview from England. "Canadians resonate to the Arctic sovereignty issue. Most Canadians have never been to the Arctic, but in the national imagination, sovereignty over the Northwest Passage does strike a chord." The timing may be motivated by the Harper government's current struggle for public support. "Harper's latest exercise in buying military hardware and votes is as much about half-keeping an election promise and solidifying core support as it is about defending Arctic sovereignty," writes Toronto Star columnist James Travers.

Ernie Regehr of the church-based disarmament group Project Ploughshares agrees. "Stephen Harper is trying to solidify his nationalist base to counter his image of being a lapdog for Bush."

Byers expresses skepticism about yesterday's promises, saying Arctic sovereignty has led to unfulfilled political promises in the past, such as Brian Mulroney's plans to purchase Arctic icebreakers and nuclear submarines. "Mr. Harper still has to deliver and delivery won't come until after the next election."

Still, he is troubled that Harper has chosen expensive military hardware instead of the promised icebreakers which would have served civilian needs and been civilian- controlled. "There is a crying need to capitalize the Coast Guard icebreaker fleet," which, he says, "has traditionally provided a coastal maritime presence with multi-purpose vessels that deliver supplies, do search and rescue, maintain navigation devices and serve as scientific research platforms." Byers sailed through the Northwest Passage last year on the icebreaker Edmonton. He says that at 30 years old, the fleet is due to be replaced, as Harper promised in the 2006 election campaign. However, this announcement signals it won't happen.

"It seems DND won, by getting the money and by being allowed to use these vessels for other purposes."

The new vessels, capable of breaking only a metre of ice, will not be able to operate effectively in Arctic waters where at least some ice can exceed that thickness at all times of year, says Byers. The advantage for the military is that the ships can operate as small frigates and could be used elsewhere in the world, such as in the Persian Gulf.

To enforce Arctic sovereignty, these patrol vessels are not needed he says. "You need the ability to interdict foreign commercial vessels, which you can do with a handful of personnel operating from a Coast Guard icebreaker." RCMP or soldiers can be and have been deployed to icebreakers in such situations.

Regehr agrees. "All of the Passage is within the 200-mile sovereignty limit. The challenges there are for Canada to meet its responsibilities, but those aren't military problems."

Byers says "These are quite specifically military vessels that will be run by the military," and will not deliver the other kind of services the Coast Guard does. "The Department of National Defence will be quite pleased. It has avoided being given icebreakers it doesn't really want," and it is acquiring vessels that "can operate very well in non-iced water. The Navy essentially is getting new frigates with money designated for the Arctic... DND has successfully lobbied to be given responsibility for Arctic sovereignty."

Harper Conservative vs. Public Values Frame
  Sovereignty / Military
  Use it or lose it / Broken icebreaker promise, slushbreakers
  among the heaviest, most versatile armed vessels / Other uses, mini-frigates
  $7.4 billion to buy, operate and maintain / Unmet civil needs

Links and sources
  PM's vessels 'aren't what we need for the Arctic', Toronto Star, Jul 10, 2007, Bruce Campion-Smith
  Michael Byers interview about his new book Intent for a Nation: What is Canada For? (Douglas & McIntyre, 2007), thecommentary.ca
  Harper on Arctic: 'Use it or lose it', Victoria Times-Colonist, July 10, 2007
  Stephen Harper announces the new defence policy, Canadian American Strategic Review

Posted: July 10, 2007

Harper Index (HarperIndex.ca) is a project of the Golden Lake Institute and the online publication StraightGoods.ca