Russia Tries to Claim North Pole, Canada Says No Way

So, Russia thinks it can claim a huge chunk of the Arctic Ocean's floor by dropping a cylinder with a flag at the North Pole. But Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper says, "No way, eh."

Well, maybe he didn't phrase it exactly like that. The prime minister actually said he was puzzled by what Russia did. The even more fitting comment comes from my fellow Nova Scotian, Foreign Minister Peter MacKay, who, The Globe and Mail reported, said: "We've established a long time ago that these are Canadian waters and this is Canadian property. You can't go around the world these days dropping a flag somewhere. This isn't the 14th or 15th century."

I don't know; the way Russian President Vladimir Putin has been acting lately -- verbally sparring with Britain and turning his back on arms treaties -- sure feels a few centuries old. And a Canadian parliament member from the Western Arctic says the Canadian government can't afford to "shrug off" Russia's move.

One undersea expert, however, said that Russia might be overreaching a bit. Kim Holmen, research director of the governmental Norwegian Polar Institute told The Guardian that Russia claiming the North Pole is a bit like Scotland claiming part of the United States because "the Appalachians and the Scottish mountains are the same geological formation."

This dispute is, of course, all about the Benjamins -- in this case, the ones you make from oil. Experts believe about a quarter of the world's untapped oil and natural gas lies under the Arctic Ocean. Under the law of the sea agreement, a country can claim a larger section of the ocean bed if it can prove that it is an extension of its continental shelf. Russia says that the North Pole is an extension of the Eurasian continent. In 2001, this claim was rejected by the United Nations, but Russia is preparing to resubmit its claim in 2009.

I know an easier way to settle this. We all know Santa Claus lives at the North Pole. When children write letters to Santa, they write him at the North Pole, Canada. He even has his own Canadian postal code -- HOH OHO. Seriously. And if the guy in the red suit gives his address as The Great White North, I for one am not going to disagree with him.

9:43 AM ET | 08- 3-2007 | permalink