Operation Nanook

The Canadian military has launched Operation Nanook 09, the latest in a series of exercises intended to demonstrate Canada's capacity to manage and defend its northern territories. The prospect of melting polar ice has helped make Canada's arctic frontier politically relevant, as has the possibility of Russian interest in the polar areas. Nanook '08 focused on scenarios that could be safely described as "maritime management," including maritime piracy, disease outbreak, and accidents. Mark at the Torch suggests that the Canadian government should tone down the conventional military aspects of the exercises, as the deployment of troops might indicate a certain insecurity about Canada's territorial claims in the Arctic. With the exception of a few small islands that are contested with Denmark, Canada's sovereignty is not in any serious dispute. Mark argues that keeping the focus on Canada's Coast Guard reaffirms the perception of sovereignty over the increasingly viable waterways that result from melting icecaps.

That all makes sense to me, but I still think that wargaming out a confrontation scenario between the Canadian Navy and the Russian Navy would be a lot of fun...