Arctic Shipping.. A Distant Dream !!

[Vincent Milner]

Lisa Raitt the transport minister of Canada indicated that the centuries-old dream of shipping through the Northwest Passage will remain mostly illusory for the foreseeable future.

She pointed out a list of concerns which including the insurance companies. Also obstacles like shallow passes, lack of navigational markers, and then there

[Jean Hemond]

 Of course she is right! But in her speech she places the  Canadian Arctic focus too far north and too late in time.  Arctic shipping is now taking an impetus from mining projects.
 My fear is that  the Canadian Governement greath expertise is at preparing the field doing the research, paying for the infrastucture, building the prototypes, all on taxpayers money. But I raise that we  are ridiculed by the way that we  fold so fast for foreign industry investments once  the project is  sure to bring benifits. I will not  enumerate this very long list of major projects starting from the Avro aircraft.
 My reading is that  the minister, in-phase with the actual Russia cold war play, properly down-playing the  Canadian Arctic sovereignty importance . That I think in  perspective to US military presence and associated brown flags interests to  facilitate  the marking of those waters as internationnal passage and may be even less.

 

[Jean Hemond]

But for me so far as the Canadian