Improving Shipping Governance in the Canadian Arctic by Integrating Inuit Perspectives and Area-Based Management: A Case Study of the Northern Low-Impact Shipping Corridors Initiative

Abstract

Deepening impacts of climate change and biophysical changes in the Canadian Arctic have triggered interests in developing the maritime transportation section as well as concerns about shipping risks. This thesis explores the implications of Arctic marine shipping activities for the pursuit of improved shipping governance in the Canadian Arctic. This dissertation contributes to the growing body of literature on Arctic shipping by exploring how integrated area-based management can facilitate integrated shipping governance in light of indigenous rights and Inuit perspectives. The results of this study are presented in four interrelated manuscripts. They review the evolution of Arctic shipping activities, examine Canada’s maritime legal and political instruments, and identify the need to involve multiple stakeholders and rights holders, balance different interests, and incorporate various types of knowledge in Arctic shipping governance. The findings indicate that an integrated governance framework should be adopted for Arctic shipping in the Canadian Arctic. This framework will need to facilitate interdepartmental collaboration, enhance indigenous engagement, and support the implementation of area-based measures. Analysis of the Northern Low-Impact Shipping Corridors initiative reveals how Inuit have been engaged in Arctic shipping and how their rights and perspectives will continue to inform Arctic shipping governance. Furthermore, this study examines Canada’s area-based measures for shipping and explores the potential to apply Marine Spatial Planning as a framework to govern shipping in the Canadian Arctic.