Canada and the Law of the Sea Convention
| Author | Rob Huebert |
| Date | 01 March 1997 |
| Published date | 01 March 1997 |
| DOI | 10.1177/002070209705200104 |
| Subject Matter | Comment & Opinion |
ROB
HUEBERT
Canada
and
the
Law
of
the
Sea
Convention
INTRODUCTION
One
of
the
cornerstones
of
Canadian
foreign
policy
throughout
the
197os
and
early
198os
was
government
support
for
the
Third
United
Nations
Conference
on
the
Law
of
the
Sea
(UNC
LOS
III).
Canadian
involvement
was
extensive
and
generally
thought
to
be
successful
in
terms
of
immediate
Canadian
objectives
and
provid-
ing
support
for
a
more
equitable
and
progressive
international
order.
In
many
ways,
Canada's
enlightened
self-interest
on
this
issue
was
viewed
as
a
sterling example
of
its
policies
towards
inter-
national
order
and
multilateralism.
Canada
readily
signed the
completed
convention
in
1982.
However,
it
has
yet
to
ratify
it,
even
though
the
convention
has
been
in
legal
force
since
16
November
1994.
Although
concerns
were
voiced
by
some
indus-
trial states
in
the
late
198os
and
early
199os
over
the
convention's
mining
component,
the
offending
articles
have
since been
amended
to
the
satisfaction
of
those
states.
The
question
remains:
why
has
Canada
not
ratified
the
convention?
Canadian
indecision
about
ratification
carries
with
it
wider
implications
for
Canadian
foreign
policy.
Why
has
Canada,
one
of
the
major
benefactors
of
the convention,
been
reluctant
to
ratify
it?
What insights
does
Canadian
action
and
inaction
on
this
issue
provide
into
current
Canadian foreign
policy?
In
an
attempt
to answer
these
questions,
this
article
addresses
three
topics.
First,
what
is
the
current
status
of
the
Law
of
the
Sea
Assistant
Professor,
Department of
Political Studies,
University
of
Manitoba.
I wish
to
thank
Shabnam
Datta,
Elisabeth
Mann
Borgese,
and
two
anonymous
reviewers
for
their
helpful
comments on earlier
drafts
of
this
article.
InternationalJournalLI
I
WINTER
1996-7
70
INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL
Convention?
What
issues
have
arisen
and
how
have
they
been
addressed
since
the convention
was
opened
for
signature
in
1982?
Second,
what
has
the
Canadian
position
been
during
the
period
between
the
final
drafting
of
the
agreement
and
the pre-
sent?
Third,
what
factors
are
behind
Canadian
actions
and
what
do
these actions
(or
lack
thereof)
say
about
Canadian
foreign
policy?
CANADA AND
MULTILATERALISM
Before
considering
Canadian
policy
towards
the
convention,
it
is
necessary to
look
at
Canada's
commitment
to
multilateralism.
Since
the
end of
the
Second
World
War,
the
twin
pillars
of
Canadian
foreign
policy
have
been
the
Canada-United
States
rela-
tionship
and
multilateralism.'
Most
Canadian
foreign
policy
ana-
lysts
have
argued
that
Canada's
self-proclaimed
role
as
a
middle
power
has
been
the
central
guiding principle
for
much
of
its
post-
war
foreign
policy.
The
reasons
for
Canada's
commitment
to
multilateralism
have
been
well-documented
elsewhere.
Suffice it
to
say
here
that
there
are
three
main
sets
of
explanations.
First,
Canadian
officials
have
found
that
the
multilateral
negotiating
sphere
is
one
to
which
Canadian
talents
are
well
suited.
Numerous
accounts
by
both researchers
and
practitioners
have
documented
the
success
of
Canadian
negotiators
in
immediate
postwar
international
forums.2
It
was
logical
that
Canadian
officials
would
continue
to
build
on
this
success.
Second,
Canadians
and Canadian
decision-makers
have
tended
to
attach
a
significant
normative
element
to
the
conduct
of
multilateralism.
The
image
of
Canada
as
a
'helpful
fixer,'
will-
ing
to
assist
the
international
community
in
whatever
manner
necessary,
has
become
an
enduring,
if
not
an
entirely
accurate,
1
For
the most
recent,
and
arguably
most
through,
examination
of
the
role
of
multilateralism
in
Canadian
foreign
policy,
see
Tom Keating,
Canada
and
World
Order:
The
Multilateralist
Tradition
in
Canadian
Foreign
Policy
(Toronto:
McClelland
&
Stewart
1993).
2
See,
for
example,
James
Eayrs,
In
Defence
of
Canada:
Peacekeeping
and
Deterrence
(Toronto:
University
of
Toronto
Press
1972);
and
Escott
Reid,
Time
of
Fear
and
Hope:
The
Making of
the
North
Atlantic
Treaty,
1947-1949
(Toronto:
McClelland
&
Stewart
1977).
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