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way to go Harper
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| simms327 |
I didn't vote for, nor do i like Harper and the conservatives, but this just put him a notch higher on my list
| quote: | Harper rebukes US envoy over Arctic
By David Ljunggren Thu Jan 26, 3:26 PM ET
OTTAWA (Reuters) - Prime Minister-designate Stephen Harper, who campaigned on the need to improve relations with Washington, rebuked the U.S. ambassador on Thursday for rejecting Canada's claims to the Arctic.
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Harper, whose Conservatives won a fragile mandate in Monday's election, said during the campaign that Prime Minister Paul Martin had needlessly exacerbated ties with the United States.
But Harper showed little hesitation in slapping down U.S. envoy David Wilkins for making critical remarks about Conservative plans to boost Canada's presence in the far north.
"The United States defends its sovereignty, the Canadian government will defend our sovereignty," Harper told reporters during his first news conference since the election.
"It is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador of the United States."
Harper, vowing to boost defenses in the Arctic to stop incursions by foreign vessels, plans to buy three new large icebreakers and build a deep sea docking facility in the Arctic for a total cost of C$2 billion over 10 years.
The United States has long challenged Canada's claims to sovereignty over Arctic waterways -- fabled as the Northwest Passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific -- saying it considers much of the region to be international waters.
This could have serious implications if ice in the Northwest Passage starts to melt due to global warming and shipping companies decide to send vessels through the area to save time and fuel.
"There's no reason to create a problem that doesn't exist," Ambassador Wilkins told reporters on Wednesday during a discussion about the plan to buy the icebreakers.
"We don't recognize Canada's claims to those waters ... Most other countries do not recognize their claim."
Canada says the passages through the archipelago of Arctic islands above the North American mainland are domestic waters.
Wilkins also made headlines during the campaign when he publicly complained about politicians attacking the United States in a bid to win voter support.
Martin regularly criticized Washington for its stance on a trade dispute over softwood lumber and also blamed rising violent crime on smuggled U.S. handguns.
He also said Harper had taken his political agenda from "extreme right" social conservatives in the United States.
Despite Martin's attacks, Harper won the election, but only has 124 of the 308 seats in the House of Commons and will need to seek support from other parties to govern.
He pledged to co-operate with opposition groupings and Canada's 10 provinces once he is sworn in on February 6.
Harper said he had found "a remarkable amount of multi-party consensus" on many of his priorities -- such as cleaning up government.
"We'll look for shared goals and for common ideas, and working together we'll seek to implement ideas that will help ordinary working people, and that will strengthen our federation," he said.
Aides told reporters that Harper had not yet decided when to present his first budget.
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source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060126..._politics_c_col |
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| simms327 |
no reply at all? not a comment??
odd |
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| Floorwhore |
| quote: | Originally posted by simms327
no reply at all? not a comment??
odd |
jay obviously went out for the night.... |
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| Cosmic Fur |
I have a feeling Harper's not a .
My most admirable quality in a man. |
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| Goashem |
| just a thought, why do we need those waters??? is it just a claim of land thing? if it is, do we really want to get into a dispute with all the countries using these waters? |
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| simms327 |
| quote: | Originally posted by Goashem
just a thought, why do we need those waters??? is it just a claim of land thing? if it is, do we really want to get into a dispute with all the countries using these waters? |
one day they could be valuable (shipping lanes - petroleum, etc..)
besides, its more the principal. |
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| EvilTree |
| quote: | Originally posted by Goashem
just a thought, why do we need those waters??? is it just a claim of land thing? if it is, do we really want to get into a dispute with all the countries using these waters? |
1. Sovereignty
-failing to protect what you perceive to be yours allows other to have a claim on your land. Canada almost went on a shooting war with Spain in mid 90s over the cod dispute, which does partially tie into sovereignty issue.
2. Natural Resources
-There are quite a lot of unexplored natural resources in the Arctic, such as oil, precious metals, etc. If you can't claim it, then others will.
3. Reputation
-There was a case with Iceland's dispute with Britain over sea sovereignty. British fishermen fished right off the coast of Iceland. Iceland didn't like that, so they pushed for a sovereignty claim of 40 miles IIRC. Britain didn't like that, so they send in Royal Navy. Media got hold of it portraying Iceland being bullied by Britain. Britain backed off and every other nation laid claim to 40 miles of sea from their coasts which later increased to 220 IIRC.
My point is that in international diplomacy, you do not want to be seen as weak. |
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| VERTiG0 |
| Give me an unlimited supply of beer, a radar station, a lawn chair, and a harpoon gun and I tell you I'll protect Canada's sovereignty in those waters come hell or high water. |
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| MarkT |
well, he's got to fight the "I'm gonna be George Bush's bitch" label that some people are trying to pin on him.
these plans were already proposed, no? He's just committed to continuing them... |
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| Wyndham |
| hes gonna do a good job in office |
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| Fir3start3r |
| quote: | | "It is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador of the United States." |
in' eh. |
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| Time2Burn |
| quote: | Originally posted by Wyndham
hes gonna do a good job in office |
With a bare minority they will put on a good "public" face. This term will be in essence a campaign to get a majority for the next term. Then people like me will be :nervous: |
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