Mr. Chair, in terms of territorial waters and internal waters, the Arctic Archipelago has straight baselines drawn around it. The Northwest Passage, for instance, is considered internal waters to Canada, so there is no right of passage there. There would be a right-of-transit passage through the territorial sea, which is 12 nautical miles beyond our baselines. There is a right to that transit if it's innocent passage. It is important to know what exactly someone is up to in terms of being innocent passage. However, there is a right of transit for states to have their maritime vessels go through those areas. It's important to know what they're up to, but it's not something that we can control access to.
On November 15th, 2022. See this statement in context.