Global warming opens up the waterways
In recent years, scientists have been urging the Canadian government to take more steps to stake its claim on the North.
Jacinthe Lacroix, senior science adviser for Environment Canada, says the ice in Canada’s Arctic has shrunk 32 per cent since the 1960s. As well, she says, global warming has raised the temperature in Canada’s northern archipelago by 1.2 degrees in the last century – twice the average rate the temperature is rising worldwide. Each year, the ice shrinks by 70,000 sq km, the equivalent of Lake Superior, she says.
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“Some studies show, if it continues to melt at that speed, by the end of the century, there could be no more summer ice in the Arctic,” Lacroix said.
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Other scientists have echoed these findings, but there is disagreement on the amount of time involved.
In 2004, André Rochon, chief scientist on Canada’s Amundsen research icebreaker, said climate change could make the route almost ice-free within 50 years, clearing the way for countries and companies to use the waterway. In June 2006, University of British Columbia Prof. Michael Byers said the Northwest Passage would be clear of ice during the summer months in 25 years, and he urged the government to take action.
Corporations worldwide have taken notice, says George Newton of the Arctic Research Commission. In June 2006, he warned that companies had recently invested $4.5 billion in ships that can navigate the ice.
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Foreign Minister Peter MacKay has said he’s aware that climate change was melting Arctic ice, and that more personnel are required to protect the Northwest Passage.
However, he has dismissed the prospect of foreign ships rushing to use the route.
“These waters are still very dangerous in terms of their navigation,” MacKay said. “Free-floating ice is also a hazard. I would suggest in the short term you are not going to see necessarily increased passage there except for Canadian ships.”
Lacroix agrees, saying that even if the passage were free from ice during the summer, large chunks of ice would drift down from the Arctic. “It will be very hazardous to do any shipping in this region,” she said.
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