Polar vision or tunnel vision the making of Canadian Arctic waters policy : The making of Canadian Arctic waters policy

This article examined the manner by which Canadian maritime Arctic policy is formulated. It suggests that this policy is largely the result of an ad hoc and reactive process. In general, the policy tends to be the product of a specific event initiated by a non-Canadian actor in the Canadian Arctic. In the early 1970s, this event was the voyages of the American oil tanker, Manhattan. These voyages resulted in the drafting and passage of the Arctic Waters Pollution Prevention Act, among other measures, to protect Canadian northern waters. Likewise, in August 1985, the voyage of the American Coast Guard icebreaker, Polar Sea, through the Northwest Passage acted as the defining event for the creation of Canadian Arctic maritime policy in the 1980s. The resulting public attention compelled the Canadian Minister of External Affairs to develop and announce on 10 September 1985, six policy initiatives that were to be the core elements of Canadian maritime Arctic policy for the remainder of the decade. This article will examine how and why these policies were selected and will then assess the government's efforts to implement them. In doing so, it will provide insight regarding how Canada creates its maritime Arctic policy.