This is a really important question you've raised, because I think it's part of what we were discussing earlier in terms of the awareness-raising. Are you going to find countries agree with each other on everything, all the time? Probably not. The reality is how does it play out in real time?
We have dealt with the issue from both a legal and a practical point of view. Yes, indeed the Americans, I think mainly from a geopolitical strategic point of view, look at straits with one point of view in mind: they like to keep them open. Our point of view, from Canada, is that you can keep your straits open in other places. This is not a strait that fits that dynamic. But let's be practical.
When President Reagan was up visiting Prime Minister Mulroney, this issue came up at the time. They decided that instead of us bickering about this, why don't we just set up a practical arrangement? The practical arrangement is that you can have your views and we'll have our views, but in the meantime we will get on with business.
That has worked very well. We do not see a problem in terms of the legal reality we have. Canada has done what it needs to do to ensure its exercise of sovereignty. Vessels that do come into Canada come into Canada with permission. One of the exercises of sovereignty is that when someone asks and you give them permission, you're in control. We have been in control, and we've been strengthening that control over the period of time under question.
I would just raise a point of lexicon. I think lexicon is really important in this discussion, and it was raised by one of your members. We don't talk in terms of “claim”, because you don't claim something you own. If you raise that question, then you are raising the doubt. And there is no doubt. We do not claim the Canadian Arctic. It is Canada's.
Part of the consciousness-awareness exercise is to be aware of the language we use, as people who people look up to. So in my presentations, not only to this group but to others, I am always careful to ensure that there is never a doubt as to who owns what. There is never a doubt what part of Norway is owned, what part of Denmark is owned, what part of Russia is owned. We will not insert a doubt into that discussion where it doesn't belong.
Thank you.