Premier Bob McLeod supports Canada's submission on an extended continental shelf that would shore up the country's Arctic claims, a news release stated June 12.
As the United States, Russia and Denmark make claims for the Arctic, the May 23 submission to the United Nations Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf by Canada lays claim to 1.2 million square kilometres of seabed and subsoil in the Arctic Ocean.
McLeod praised the move, and said it would assist research and resource development, while citing growing international debates over Arctic resources and shipping routes.
"This process will help recognize Canada's sovereign rights overs the natural resources of the continental shelf as well as jurisdiction over activities such as marine scientific research,"he stated in the press release. "The people of the NWT look forward to having a role in the management of their Arctic waters.”