Thank you for that question, because it enables me to clarify that, in addition to the Northwest Passage, which passes through Canada's Arctic archipelago, there is, on the other side of the Arctic Ocean, a traffic route called the northern sea route that passes along the coast of Russia. There are several choke points along that route between Russian offshore islands and the Russian mainland that are less than 24 nautical miles across, which Russia claims as Russian internal waters.
The Russian legal position is identical to the Canadian legal position, and the one disputant of their position is the United States. There are other parallels between Russia's situation in the northern sea route and Canada's situation in the Northwest Passage. In fact, the only country ever to support Canada's position publicly was the Soviet Union in 1985.
What's happening is that the northern sea route is opening up sooner than the Northwest Passage for climatic reasons I don't fully understand, and Russia is seeking to attract foreign shipping. They're trying to get commercial ships to come, including Chinese vessels. They're charging them icebreaking fees, so they're making some revenue, and of course they are requiring consent. No one has ever challenged Russia on this. No one has ever physically tried to go through because the Russian Navy is a rather formidable force.