One of Canada's biggest challenges is to ensure that we maintain our claim to the Northwest Passage as an internal waterway. So while Canada reached an important agreement with the U.S. in 1988 to permit certain U.S. vessels through the passage on a case-by-case basis, this did not settle the question of sovereignty.
Can you elaborate on the position of the Arctic Council member states, as well as the current position of the U.S., on our internal passage claim? Also, what elements do you think need to be in place before the U.S. would publicly recognize the Northwest Passage as an internal waterway?