Breaking the Ice

The Hill Times: Best Books of 2017

The Arctic seabed, with its vast quantities of undiscovered resources, is the twenty-first century’s frontier.


In Breaking the Ice: Canada, Sovereignty and the Arctic Extended Continental Shelf, Arctic policy expert Elizabeth Riddell-Dixon examines the political, legal, and scientific aspects of Canada’s efforts to delineate its Arctic extended continental shelf. The quality and quantity of the data collected and analyzed by the scientists and legal experts preparing Canada’s Arctic Submission for the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf, and the extensive collaboration with Canada’s Arctic neighbours is a good news story in Canadian foreign policy. As Arctic sovereignty continues to be a key concern for Canada and as the international legal regime is being observed by all five Arctic coastal states, it is crucial to continue to advance our understanding of the complex issues around this expanding area of national interest.