On the current this morning I heard yet another journalist clucking about the glorious 'potential' the meltic Arctic holds. For what, exactly? Our own destruction? Much of the resouces that are being exposed there are hydrocarbons, and It makes absolutely no sense to extract and burn even more CO2 producing fuels given their connections to climate change. Humanity will doom itself it it chooses short-term economic prosperity over long-term survival.

This is an excellent show..well done.

I am a 5th or 6th generation Canadian. I believe the Russians are more intitiled to the North & what ever it has.
As a near 68 year old, iI remember how we used to make fun of the Russians living the the "Cold North", like Syberia 'Jokes'.

The Russians would share the wealth of the oil etc. with their people, unlike Can. & the USA, who would give it all to their "Billioniar Friends" & let ordinary folks like me & millions of others "Freeze in the Dark".

Having the UN, decide, (who has the rights)would be like having an American Referee, do a game between Russia & Canada. Russia has to beat not only Canada but at least 3 of the 4 officials.

The issues are obvious and much remains to be done in order to satisfy even the minimum requirements for adequate sovereignty enforcement in the Canadian Arctic. The traditional state and military security of the region is directly related to the environmental concerns.

The fight for legal or even de facto control over the Northwest Passage begins with the environment and ends with real muscle to implement the laws of the land. Without the proper equipment and manpower to sustain Canadian presence the environmental hazards can never be minimised, and the ongoing threat of spills, pollution, and distress will do greater harm to northern Canadians than they will the intruders, many of which have less to lose and everything to gain.

At the end of the day, after all the bilateral agreements have been signed, Canada must still rely on its physical presence in the region in order to have some real semblance of authority over it. Stephen Harper’s oft-stated idiom that Canada must “use it or lose it” can be applied in this instance, for the country is all too familiar of its middle-power, US-reliant status in the world, with a feeling of inferiority in all things diplomatic and military. Harper’s focus on the Canadian Arctic following the Conservative victory in 2006 may well have steered Canada in the right path to Arctic sovereignty and the actions necessary to maintain or enhance it. The task, however, remains incomplete, forgotten by the current global economic crisis and the political cracks surfacing in Ottawa. Though seemingly Herculean in scope, Arctic sovereignty is neither an issue that can be ignored nor slowed down. As the ice melts so too does Canada’s sovereignty, but while the former is inevitable the latter can be prevented.

I am sorry I miss this show. When is it going to be re-broadcast.

Please note: This film can be watched online at:
http://www.cbc.ca/documentaries/doczone/2009/battleforthearctic/index.html