FROM POLAR SEA to STRAIGHT BASELINES Canadian Arctic Policy in the Mulroney Era
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
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: 519.884.8110 ext. 28233 Tel: 403.220.4030 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: 403-220-7515 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. iii 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. v Introduction From the Polar Sea to Straight Baselines: Arctic Policy in the Mulroney Era Adam Lajeunesse and Rob Huebert In September 1985, Secretary of State for External Affairs Joe Clark rose in the House of Commons to announce a radical shift in Canadian Arctic policy. For the first time, a Canadian Government would present a comprehensive plan to define and defend Arctic sovereignty. Furthermore, this plan was open and transparent, presented in the House of Commons for all Canadians to see. The catalyst was the voyage of the American Coast Guard vessel USCGC Polar Sea, which