A joint Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) team on sovereignty patrol in the High Arctic leaves Alexandra Fiord on Ellesmere Island to look for evidence of illegal polar bear hunting in the area.


From time to time, arrogant and ill-mannered nations like the United States like to steam their ice breakers - WITHOUT PERMISSION or WARNING - through Canada's northern waters in a show of massive disrespect. For some reason, the USA refuses to recognize our waters as ours. Every time they do it, I wish that for just once we'd forget our legendary world-famous manners, and send a warning shot over the bows, and perhaps even into them as they violate our Northwest Passage.

In January 2006, the very arrogant American Ambassador David Wilkins stated: "Our position is very consistent. We agree to disagree. We don't recognize Canada's claims to the waters."

Prime Minister-designate Steven Harper rebuked him with:

"We have significant plans for national defence and for defence of our sovereignty, including Arctic sovereignty. We believe we have the mandate for those from the Canadian people and we hope to have it as well from the House of Commons, but it is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador from the United States."

Anyway, I was VERY glad to find out that the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) and our Canadian Forces (including the volunteer mostly-Inuit Canadian Rangers) have been on special patrol lately. It never hurts to flex a bit of muscle.

Commissioned by the Hualapai Indian Tribe, and set to open officially open to the public on March 28th, Grand Canyon Skywalkis a new and unique tourist attraction that has generated a great deal of controversy. Located along the Colorado River, the Skywalk will cost visitors U$25 per person, plus the usual Grand Canyon West entry fees.


According to Wikipedia:

The horseshoe-shaped glass walkway is suspended 1 200 meters above the canyon, a height that eclipses the world's largest skyscrapers. It protrudes 65 feet (20 meters) from the edge of the canyon, and its walls and floor are built from glass 4 inches (10.2 cm) thick. The Skywalk is able to hold 70 tons of weight, allowing for 800 people weighing 175 lbs. (80 kg) each to stand on the bridge; the allowed capacity, though, will be limited to only 120 persons. All visitors will be provided with shoe covers to protect them from slipping and to prevent scratching of the glass floor.

In addition to tuned mass dampers used to minimize vibration from wind and pedestrians, the structure was built to withstand up to 100 mph winds and a magnitude 8 earthquake. Construction of the Skywalk began in March 2004. It was rolled onto the edge of the canyon on March 7, 2007, after passing several days of final testing to replicate weather, strength and endurance conditions of its final destination. According to Hualapai officials, the cost of the Skywalk alone will exceed $40 million.

The Grand Canyon Skywalk complex will also include a museum, movie theater, VIP lounge, gift shop, and several restaurants including a high-end restaurant called The Skywalk Café where visitors will be able to dine outdoors at the canyon's rim. It is the cornerstone of a larger plan by the tribe, which they hope will be the catalyst for a 9,000-acre development to be called Grand Canyon West: it would open up a long-inaccessible 100-mile stretch of countryside along the canyon's South Rim and include hotels, restaurants, a golf course and a cable car to ferry visitors from the canyon rim to the Colorado River.