Icebergs dead ahead : anticipating increased maritime shipping in the Canadian Arctic ...

• Main Author: Grove, Alan Jon
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: University of British Columbia 2017
• Subjects: Arctic; Climate change; Iceberg*; Sea ice
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.14288/1.0342966; https://doi.library.ubc.ca/10.14288/1.0342966

Shipping is a fundamental feature of life in the Canadian North. Climate change is opening waterways between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, introducing the possibility of new vessels plying these waters as a transitory space. Furthermore, community growth and economic development activities have increased domestic maritime traffic in the region as well. The regulation and support of shipping in the region has come under question as sea ice retreat reveals open waters. This thesis examines the question of how are the present and the prospective future of shipping in the Canadian Arctic managed and governed. I situate my work in the fields of critical polar studies, anticipatory geographies, and Arctic geopolitics. I use expert interviews with policy makers in Transport Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Environment Canada, the Canadian Ice Service, the Government of Nunavut’s Department of Economic Development and Transportation, along with perspectives from officials at the World Wildlife Fund and the ...