According to Coast Guard figures, some 62 commercial and re-supply vessels transited portions of the Northwest Passage in 2008.  Government officials feel that if testing goes smoothly the Northern Watch program will be fully operational by 2012.

Please visit the following link for more information:

The Canadian government will keep an ear on its frigid Arctic waters – Canadian Press

Of interest in the Canadian context, the U.S. has not deviated from its previous stance on the Northwest Passage –what it considers an international strait and not part of Canadian internal waters.  Although this stance has been well documented for many years, the U.S. policy also recommends that the Senate approve and ratify the U.N. Law of the Sea Treaty, which among other things could formally recognize its territorial claim to continental shelf rights (pending sufficient geological data).  These remarks might seem mere political rhetoric at present, but as time moves forward and if such measures are approved then pressure between these two allies to resolve this diplomatic dispute will be required.  Additionally, the two countries have a territorial dispute over a portion of the Beaufort Sea (hydrocarbon hot-spot) stemming from a disagreement surrounding its boundary separating the two countries.

It will be interesting to see if prime minister Harper adds further funding to bolster Canada’s Arctic sovereign claim in the much anticipated federal budget at the end of January — a confidence vote which could topple the minority government — to curtail the United States’ Arctic policy that butts heads with Canadian interests.  

For further interest on the recently released U.S. Arctic policy, please visit the following link:

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2009/01/20090112-3.html