We've tried that exact thing, actually. In 1987-88, during negotiations with the Americans, the then Department of External Affairs tried precisely that, to establish a bilateral agreement in which the Americans would recognize Canadian sovereignty on a non-precedent basis. Different wordings were attempted to try to make sure we could do this without setting a precedent, and it simply fell flat. Times have obviously changed since then, but my personal opinion is that's probably a dead end.
If I may, I just want to mention very briefly something you spoke with Ms. Conley about. It's important to make a certain clarification when you're talking about military forces in the Arctic. The fact is that there is no single Arctic with a common military issue. There are multiple Arctics. The Canadian Arctic exists on a very different level from the European Arctic, with very different security requirements.
When we say there is Arctic militarization, that Arctic militarization is taking place in Eurasia, and the forces being deployed—primarily Russian—don't normally have the power projection capability to threaten the Canadian Arctic. Theoretically, even if they did, the Canadian Arctic is really not the first place we need to worry about Russian aggression. If it is, we're in a third world war, and investing in Arctic defence is an inefficient use of our resources.