Green Party leader defends Arctic Sovereignty

NEW GLASGOW - Leader of the Green Party of Canada, Elizabeth May, is an invited participant in a major legal summit in New York on the issues related to Canada's sovereignty over the Northwest Passage. The event, the meeting of the American Bar Association International Justice Section, will take place in New York on April 3, 2008. Originally, Defence Minister Peter MacKay was also to speak. He has withdrawn due to other commitments and no other Canadian government representative has been confirmed.

The position for the United States is being advanced by John Norton Moore, director for the Center of Ocean Law and Policy who is a former deputy US Ambassador to the Law of the Sea conference and Pentagon representative, Commander James Kraska, Chief of International Division and Oceans Policy Advisor. The only Canadian representative will be Ms. May.

"The case for Canadian sovereignty is strong, but there is far more our government could be doing to advance that case. The election promises of ice-breakers have not come to pass. So far, only one replacement ice-breaker has been confirmed, we trail in the commitment to Arctic science and we need to be prepared for emergencies and search and rescue beyond current capabilities," said Ms. May. "Overall, the fact of the climate crisis and its dramatic impacts on the Arctic require urgent action."

The paper to be presented by Elizabeth May will be posted on the American Bar association and Green Party of Canada website.