As to whether Canada should embrace NATO participation in Arctic sovereignty issues, I would say yes. But we must use caution. The Northwest Passage issue is predominantly, though not exclusively, a bilateral one. It has broader international implications, but it's best managed on a bilateral basis in cooperation with the United States. With NATO, though, it is important for Canada to have multilateral engagement. We don't want to confine ourselves to a bilateral position, and we certainly don't want to act in a unilateral fashion. I think it is important to have strength through cooperation, through institutions like NATO.
Why the caution? Why don't we take a big cue from Norway? Denmark's in a slightly different situation. Of course there's the Greenland issue, but Denmark is fundamentally a continental power, a continental country, while Norway is much more a true Arctic country. Greenland's in a different situation. I advise caution because NATO isn't just the northern allies; it's all of mainland Europe. There is an interest in Arctic resources, like fisheries. I suggest caution because European interests in the Arctic are not always going to be benign for Canadian or Norwegian interests. That's why I say that we should regard NATO's participation with approval tempered by caution.