CANADA BACKTRACKS ON CLAIM BRITAIN CEDED HANS ISLAND AT CONFEDERATION

Ottawa Just days after it began negotiations with Denmark over the ownership of Hans Island, the Canadian government appears to be backing away from a key argument in its claim for the remote island — that it was discovered by Britain and therefore ceded to Canada in the 19th century. Throughout the controversy over which nation has sovereignty over Hans Island, located in a narrow channel between Ellesmere Island and Danishc o n t r o l l e d Greenland, Canada has argued its claim is rooted in the island’s discovery by British explorers. But Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew, pictured, conceded government experts are still gathering historical evidence to build Canada’s case. He is open to the suggestion that the island was first sighted by an American explorer, acknowledging there are competing claims about the discovery. “ There are others. We will compare our cases [ and] dialogue with the Danes,” said Mr. Pettigrew. “ Canada has always claimed

our sovereignty over

Hans Island. Denmark

does the same. We

have to dig out maps

of 40 years ago and

this sort of thing ... We

will take the time it

takes in resolving it in

a mature way.” Mr.

Pettigrew’s comments

depart from Canada’s

earlier position on the

issue. “It was discovered by the British,

and, of course, given to

Canada as part of its

Confederation, and

therefore, it forms an

integral part of our territory,” Foreign Affairs

parliamentary secretary Dan McTeague said last month.