Mike Blanchfield/Randy Boswell: Canada Softens Historical Claims To Hans Island
Just days after it began negotiations with Denmark over the ownership of Hans Island, the Canadian government appears to be backing away from a key argument in its claim for the remote island -- that it was discovered by Britain and therefore ceded to Canada in the 19th century.
Throughout the controversy over which nation now has sovereignty over Hans Island, located in a narrow channel between Ellesmere Island and Danish-controlled Greenland, Canada has argued its claim is rooted in the island's discovery by British explorers.
But Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew conceded government experts are still gathering historical evidence to build Canada's case. He is open to the suggestion that the island was first sighted by an American explorer, acknowledging there are competing claims about the discovery.
"There are others. We will compare our cases (and) dialogue with the Danes," Mr. Pettigrew said.
"Canada has always claimed our sovereignty over Hans Island. Denmark does the same. We have to dig out maps of 40 years ago and this sort of thing. ... We will take the time it takes in resolving it in a mature way."
Mr. Pettigrew's comments appear to reflect a softening of Canada's stance on who found the island.
"It was discovered by the British, and, of course, given to Canada as part of its Confederation, and therefore, it forms an integral part of our territory," Foreign Affairs parliamentary secretary Dan McTeague said last month.
Mr. Pettigrew has advanced the same argument in recent public comments, and the department's official position on the controversy states: "Canada's sovereignty over Hans Island is longstanding and based on a solid foundation in international law. This includes the discovery of the Arctic islands by British explorers and subsequent devolution to Canada."
But a CanWest News Service probe into the island's history -- spurred by Canadian historian Kenn Harper's assertion that American explorers were actually the first to encounter it -- has confirmed the existence of several accounts of the discovery of Hans Island during the 1871 Polaris expedition headed by U.S. explorer Charles Francis Hall.
Throughout the controversy over which nation now has sovereignty over Hans Island, located in a narrow channel between Ellesmere Island and Danish-controlled Greenland, Canada has argued its claim is rooted in the island's discovery by British explorers.
But Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew conceded government experts are still gathering historical evidence to build Canada's case. He is open to the suggestion that the island was first sighted by an American explorer, acknowledging there are competing claims about the discovery.
"There are others. We will compare our cases (and) dialogue with the Danes," Mr. Pettigrew said.
"Canada has always claimed our sovereignty over Hans Island. Denmark does the same. We have to dig out maps of 40 years ago and this sort of thing. ... We will take the time it takes in resolving it in a mature way."
Mr. Pettigrew's comments appear to reflect a softening of Canada's stance on who found the island.
"It was discovered by the British, and, of course, given to Canada as part of its Confederation, and therefore, it forms an integral part of our territory," Foreign Affairs parliamentary secretary Dan McTeague said last month.
Mr. Pettigrew has advanced the same argument in recent public comments, and the department's official position on the controversy states: "Canada's sovereignty over Hans Island is longstanding and based on a solid foundation in international law. This includes the discovery of the Arctic islands by British explorers and subsequent devolution to Canada."
But a CanWest News Service probe into the island's history -- spurred by Canadian historian Kenn Harper's assertion that American explorers were actually the first to encounter it -- has confirmed the existence of several accounts of the discovery of Hans Island during the 1871 Polaris expedition headed by U.S. explorer Charles Francis Hall.