Canada & Denmark Ends Ownership Dispute, Divide Small Arctic Island

Canada and Denmark have reached a settlement over the decades-old border disputed Arctic Island. Hans Island is a 1.3-square-kilometer rock in the Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Ellesmere Island, sources say.

The Inuit name for the island is Tartupaluk – describing its kidney-like shape – and under the agreement, a border will be drawn across the Island, dividing it between the Canadian territory of Nunavut and the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland.

Under the agreement, to be signed on Tuesday, a border will be drawn across the 1.3 square kilometers (0.5 square miles) Hans Island, in the waterway between the northwestern coast of the semi-autonomous Danish territory of Greenland and Canada’s Ellesmere Island. The rock has no mineral reserves.

“It sends a clear signal that it is possible to resolve border disputes … in a pragmatic and peaceful way, where the all parties become winners,” said Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod.

He said it was “an important signal now that there is much war and unrest in the world”.

Canada and Denmark agreed in 1973 to create a border through Nares Strait, halfway between Greenland and Canada.

Despite, the two friendly countries agreeing to divide the tiny island between them, they were unable to agree on which country would have sovereignty over Hans Island, which lies about 1,100km (684 miles) south of the North Pole.

In the end, they decided to work out the question of ownership later.