Arctic Policy Mulroney Era DCASS.xps

160 Pages·2017·1.76 MB·English

by  Adam Lajeunesse

Documents on Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and Security

FROM POLAR SEA
TO STRAIGHT BASELINES
Canadian Arctic Policy in the Mulroney Era

Adam Lajeunesse and Rob Huebert
Documents on Canadian Arctic Sovereignty and
Security (DCASS)
ISSN 2368-4569

Series Editors:
P. Whitney Lackenbauer
Adam Lajeunesse

Managing Editor: Ryan Dean

From Polar Sea to Straight Baselines: Arctic Policy in the
Mulroney Era
Adam Lajeunesse and Rob Huebert
DCASS Number 11, 2017

Cover: USCG Polar Sea in 1983; US National Archives Identifier 6384187
Back Cover: Brian Mulroney and Ronald Reagan at the shamrock summit, 1985

Centre for Military, Security and Centre on Foreign Policy and
Federalism
Strategic Studies St. Jerome’s University
University of Calgary 290 Westmount Road N.
2500 University Dr. N.W. Waterloo, ON, N2L 3G3
Calgary, AB, T2N 1N4 Tel: [phone] ext. 28233
Tel: [phone] www.sju.ca/cfpf
www.cmss.ucalgary.ca

Arctic Institute of North America
University of Calgary
2500 University Drive NW, ES-1040
Calgary, AB T2N 1N4
Tel: [phone]
http://arctic.ucalgary.ca/

Copyright © the authors/editors, 2017
Permission policies are outlined on our website
http://cmss.ucalgary.ca/research/arctic-document-series
From the Polar Sea to
Straight Baselines:

Arctic Policy in the Mulroney Era

Adam Lajeunesse, Ph.D.
and
Rob Huebert, Ph.D.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements........................................................................... iii

Preface ................................................................................................. iv

Introduction ...................................................................................... vii

1. Memorandum, “Status of Arctic Archipelagic Waters” ...................... 1
2. Memorandum, “Canada-United States Consultations on the Law of
the Sea and Arctic Baselines” .......................................................... 43
3. Inuit Tapirisat, “Inuit call on Federal Government to Take Stand on
Canadian Arctic Sovereignty” .......................................................... 49
4. News Release: “Voyage of the Polar Sea” ........................................ 51
5. House of Commons Briefing Book .................................................. 53
6. Memorandum, “Canada/United States Arctic Cooperation” .......... 54
7. Statement in the House of Commons by Joe Clark .......................... 57
8. Address by Joe Clark at Dalhousie University ................................. 62
9. Address by Joe Clark to the Canadian Club ..................................... 64
10. Memorandum, “Possible Canada/US Agreement” .......................... 67
11. Memorandum, “Possible Agreement on Arctic Waters” .................. 70
12. “Chronology: Polar Sea” .................................................................. 72
13. Office of Operations Division, “Polar Sea Transit” .......................... 75
14. Memorandum, “Sovereignty Discussions with the USA” ................ 83
15. Draft Arctic Treaty ........................................................................... 91
16. Edward G. Lee Ed., “Canadian Practice in International Law during
1985 - At the Department of External Affairs” ................................ 94
17. Prepared Statement by the US Delegation ...................................... 95
18. Talking Points, “Canadian Arctic Sovereignty” ............................... 98
19. Public Papers of the President of the United States, “Informal
Exchange with Reporters in Ottawa, Canada” ............................... 101
20. Public Papers of the President of the United States, “Interview with
Foreign Television Journalists ...................................................... 102
21. Speech by Joe Clark, Tromsø, Norway .......................................... 103
22. Public Papers of the President of the United States “Statement by
Assistant to the President” ............................................................ 111
23. Arctic Cooperation Agreement ...................................................... 112
24. House of Commons, Debates, on Arctic Cooperation Agreement . 114
25. Department of External Affairs, “News Release: U.S. Icebreaker
Polar Star" Enters Canadian Waters. ............................................ 116
i
26. Text of U.S. Note No. 425 .............................................................. 117
27. Joe Clark, speech, “Sovereignty in an Interdependent World,” .... 120

About the Editors ........................................................................... 128
Acknowledgements

The authors would like to thank the Social Sciences and Humanities
Research Council for its assistance funding the production of this volume.
They would also like to thank Dianna Kendall for her help in proofreading
and transcription. Finally, Dr. Lajeunesse would like to thank Irving
Shipbuilding for its support of the Mulroney Institute of Government at St.
Francis Xavier University, which aided in the publication of this work.
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Preface

This volume is a documentary history of Canadian Arctic sovereignty in
the 1980s, with a focus on the dramatic policy shift which took place under
the Conservative government of Brian Mulroney after the voyage of the US
Coast Guard icebreaker Polar Sea in 1985. The collection combines some of
the most relevant documents available to the public – assembled from the
collections of Arctic historian Adam Lajeunesse and political scientist Rob
Huebert, secured through personal contacts or the Access to Information
Act.
While this material should provide researchers with an accurate picture
of Canadian policy making during this period, it must be noted that much of
the documentation on this subject remains classified and, as such, this
compendium is an incomplete collection. Even those documents released to
the public contain some redactions, and notations in this volume have been
made to indicate these classified sections – the vast majority of which occur
under section 15(1) of the Access to Information Act.
Section 15 is a discretionary injury exemption, which allows the
government of Canada to except information from being disclosed if it
believes that information may prove injurious to:

1. the conduct of international affairs;
2. the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with Canada;
or
3. the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or hostile
activities
This section reads as follows:
15 (1) The head of a government institution may refuse to disclose any
record requested under this Act that contains information the disclosure
of which could reasonably be expected to be injurious to the conduct of
international affairs, the defence of Canada or any state allied or
associated with Canada or the detection, prevention or suppression of
subversive or hostile activities, including, without restricting the
generality of the foregoing, any such information
a) relating to military tactics or strategy, or relating to military
exercises or operations undertaken in preparation for hostilities or
in connection with the detection, prevention or suppression of
subversive or hostile activities;
b) relating to the quantity, characteristics, capabilities or deployment
of weapons or other defence equipment or of anything being
designed, developed, produced or considered for use as weapons or
other defence equipment;
c) relating to the characteristics, capabilities, performance, potential,
deployment, functions or role of any defence establishment, of any
military force, unit or personnel or of any organization or person
responsible for the detection, prevention or suppression of
subversive or hostile activities;
d) obtained or prepared for the purpose of intelligence relating to
(i) the defence of Canada or any state allied or associated with
Canada, or
(ii) the detection, prevention or suppression of subversive or
hostile activities;
e) obtained or prepared for the purpose of intelligence respecting
foreign states, international organizations of states or citizens of
foreign states used by the Government of Canada in the process of
deliberation and consultation or in the conduct of international
affairs;
f) on the positions adopted or to be adopted by the Government of
Canada, governments of foreign states or international
organizations of states for the purpose of present or future
international negotiations;
g) that constitutes diplomatic correspondence exchanged with foreign
states or international organizations of states or official
correspondence exchanged with Canadian diplomatic missions or
consular posts abroad
Given these limitations, this volume remains a work in progress and will
be expanded as new material is released.
Certain files within this collection have also been reproduced with no
archival finding information attached, since these documents were provided
by government officials directly to the authors. Readers should note as well
that spelling and other errors found in the originals have been retained in
the transcriptions.

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