VZCZCXRO6207
RR RUEHGA RUEHHA RUEHQU RUEHVC
DE RUEHOT #2294/01 2122132
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 312132Z JUL 06
FM AMEMBASSY OTTAWA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3315
INFO RUCNCAN/ALL CANADIAN POSTS COLLECTIVE
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 2316
RULSJGA/COMDT COGARD WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 002294 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/CAN, OES/OA (SMITH), L/OES (ROACH), IO/T, EB/TRA 
DOD FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 
COASTGUARD FOR INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: CA EMIN EPET PBTS PREL SENV DE UN
SUBJECT: CANADA TAKES STEPS TO ESTABLISH SOVEREIGNTY OVER 
CONTINENTAL SHELF 
 
REF: OTTAWA 1904 (NOTAL) 
 
¶1. (U)  Summary:  The GOC is taking steps to secure sovereign 
rights over seabed resources that extend to the edge of the 
continental shelf.  On July 20 the GOC announced a C$2 
million effort to identify and map the outer edge of the 
continental shelf.  Under the UN Convention on the Law of the 
Sea (UNCLOS), Canada has 10 years from ratification to claim 
sovereignty over seabed resources to the limits of the 
continental shelf beyond the exclusive economic zone of 200 
nautical miles; Canada ratified the UNCLOS in 2003. 
Separately, Canada has a joint initiative with the Geological 
Survey of Denmark and Greenland to conduct surveys in 
northern boundary waters.  Canada,s effort to secure 
sovereign rights may have ramifications with respect to 
American and Canadian maritime boundary disputes and 
exploitation of seabed resources, particularly in the Arctic 
and Atlantic Oceans. End Summary. 
¶2. (U)  Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, 
announced on July 20 that Fugro Jacques GeoSurveys Inc. of 
Newfoundland and Labrador has been awarded a C$2 million 
contract to identify the outer edge of the continental shelf, 
which refers to the natural prolongation of the continent 
until the sea bottom descends to the deep oceanic floor. 
Minister Hearn said that the mapping &will enable Canada to 
establish with certainty where our continental shelf begins 
and ends((and this) will give Canada undisputed 
international recognition for our sovereign rights over the 
seabed resources in the areas beyond (Canada,s) 200-mile 
limit.8 
¶3. (U)  Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the 
Sea (UNCLOS), all Coastal States are automatically granted a 
Territorial Sea and Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) out to 200 
nautical miles.  Under Article 77 of the UNCLOS, 
approximately 50 states, including Canada, may also extend 
their authority further.  Provided they can successfully map 
and state claim to an extended continental shelf, Article 77 
grants &... sovereign rights for the purpose of exploring it 
and exploiting its (i.e., the continental shelf) natural 
resources8, a right, however, that does not include the 
waters and resources above the seafloor. Those Coastal States 
with a continental shelf that extends beyond 200 nautical 
miles have 10 years from their ratification of UNCLOS to 
determine its outer edge.  Canada ratified UNCLOS in November 
2003 and so has until November 2013 to make its claim. 
 
¶4. (U)  According to Minister of Natural Resources Gary Lunn, 
Canada already enjoys sovereign rights over its extended 
continental shelf in the Atlantic and Arctic oceans*an  area 
approximately 1,750,000 kilometers.  In order, however, &to 
provide certainty to future economic development of seabed 
resources, it is important to gain international recognition 
to their full extent,8 he said.  Peter MacKay, Minister of 
Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada 
Opportunities Agency, added that Canada is &working hard to 
obtain the best scientific evidence to support (its) claim to 
the largest area of continental shelf.8 
 
¶5. (U)  Under the recently announced contract, Canada is set 
to survey approximately 17,000 square kilometers of seabed 
off Newfoundland and Labrador.  Specifically, Fugro Jacques 
GeoSurveys Inc. will collect multi-beam (multiple sonar 
beams) survey data between July and September 2006. 
Qbeams) survey data between July and September 2006. 
Strategic hydrographic profiles will be surveyed from 
southern Labrador to the Laurentian Channel, including the 
Nose and Tail of the Grand Banks, the Flemish Cap, and the 
Orphan Knoll.  Canada will also conduct northern survey work 
in August 2006, using the icebreaker Louis S. St. Laurent. 
The UNCLOS-mapping is a joint federal government initiative 
led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and International 
Trade, with Natural Resources Canada and Fisheries and Oceans 
Canada. 
¶6. (U)  Natural Resources Canada also has a joint initiative 
with the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland to 
conduct surveys in northern boundary waters.  As part of this 
agreement, a joint Canada-Denmark seismic project was carried 
out in the spring of 2006 from Canadian Forces Station Alert, 
located on Ellesmere Island in the Canadian Arctic.  The goal 
was to determine if the Lomonosov Ridge meets UNCLOS 
requirements for an extension of the North American 
continental shelf. Ironically, in 2005, Canada and Denmark 
engaged in a spirited debate over the nationality of Hans 
Island, an uninhabited barren knoll measuring a half 
square-mile located between Greenland and Ellesmere Island. 
¶7. (U) Comment: The United States and Canada have competing 
 
OTTAWA 00002294  002 OF 002 
 
 
maritime boundary claims in places along the Pacific (Dixon 
Entrance), Atlantic (Machias Seal Island) and Arctic Ocean 
(Beaufort Sea) coasts.  The Canadian effort to claim 
sovereignty over the continental shelf may complicate these 
on-going disputes. End comment. 
 
Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa 
 
WILKINS