Hans Island is part of Canada

I don't know much of the history, but being Canadian, I think I will stake a claim on Hans Island for king queen me and country! Recently, the squabble over Hans Island reared its head when Defense Minister Bill Graham visited the uninhabited island, and Canadian soldiers planted the Maple Leaf flag there. Canada and Denmark have long claimed Hans Island as their own -- it being between Greenland and Ellesmere Island. Canada's claim dates back to the handover of British territory to Canada in 1867, of which Hans Island was a part. Denmark claims Hans Island because it's closer to Greenland than it is to Canada. Like that's a good enough excuse. Denmark still maintains a hold over Greenland -- a hold that goes back to the colonial days. Someone ought to remind them that colonialism died out a while back.

The bad news in this for Canada is that we don't have much of a northern military presence [PDF] -- in fact, we hardly have a military, so there's no way we could reinforce our claim on the island -- as small and insignificant as it is. Why should we even care about Hans Island? Well, global warming is slowly but surely making the Arctic a place where ships could easily traverse without the need for ice breakers to clear the way. A north-west passage from Europe to Asia would be of vital economic importance to whoever controls the passage. Right now, Denmark and Canada are squabbling on the east, and the US, Russia and Canada are having words on the west.