Arctic riches .... Battle for the new frontiers

Will Canada, Russia and Denmark come to blows over claims for the extension of  the borders of all three countries?  This is exciting! 

One thing bothers me. Why did Canada file only "partial submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf"  ... don't we have enough cartographers around who could have worked round the clock to get more than a "partial submission" by the due date of December 6th?  Hope this does not come back to bite us in the butt.



From CTVNews:
Canada has filed a claim that    dramatically expands the country's boundaries in the Atlantic Ocean, but it will be a few more years before Canadian scientists determine whether that claim can extend all the way to the North Pole.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird -- along with Minister for the Arctic Council Leona Aglukkaq -- announced Canada's submission with the UN's Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, which covers 1.2 million square kilometres of the Atlantic Ocean floor.
During a news conference in Ottawa on Monday, Baird said Canada also filed preliminary information on what it believes to be the outer limits of its claim to the Arctic seafloor.
While the area is not yet fully mapped, Baird says Canada will try to extend its territorial claims to the North Pole.
"We are determined to ensure that all Canadians benefit from the tremendous resources that are to be found in Canada's Far North," he said.
The Arctic is believed to contain as much as one-quarter of the world’s undiscovered energy resources.
Aglukkaq said expanding Canada's continental shelf is central to Canada's future economic prosperity.
"We are defining Canada's last frontier," she said.........



From Globe&Mail:
Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister    said his government intends to lay claim to the North Pole, but is delaying a full international bid for seabed rights in the resource-rich Arctic until scientists can gather sufficient data to back up this territorial expansion.

John Baird held a news conference Monday to explain why Canada has filed only a partial submission to the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf by last’s week’s deadline.
He made it clear that Ottawa has no intention of forfeiting the geographic North Pole, a stand that will put Canada at odds with Russia and Denmark – two countries expected to stake an interest in the region. This is the first time a government cabinet minister has publicly declared Canada wants to claim the Pole.
Mr. Baird said Canada has not completed mapping the underwater Lomonosov Ridge that the government hopes would effectively link this country to the North Pole.
The due date for Canada’s filing was Dec. 6 and Ottawa confirmed Monday that it filed only a partial claim last week that included a separate for 1.2 million square kilometres of Atlantic seabed rights plus a note saying it would file an Arctic claim at a later date........

From TorontoSun:
... The Conservatives hinted Tuesday    that Russia should check its Arctic rhetoric after President Vladimir Putin pushed plans to beef up his country's military presence in their northern waters.
The Russian president's announcement of a major expansion of military resources along its Arctic coastline raised some eyebrows when it came a day after Canada confirmed it was keen to plant the Maple Leaf on the North Pole.....