Canadian Internal Waters is a Canadian term for the waters "on the landward side of the baselines of the territorial sea of Canada."

Definition

The baselines are defined as "the low-water line along the coast or on a low-tide elevation that is situated wholly or partly at a distance not exceeding the breadth of the territorial sea of Canada from the mainland or an island," and the territorial sea is defined as extending from the points of the baselines, or such other points as may be prescribed. Canada asserts that all waters within the bounds of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, including the

Northwest Passage The Northwest Passage (NWP) is the sea route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans through the Arctic Ocean, along the northern coast of North America via waterways through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. The eastern route along the ...

, are within its internal waters. They also include the Strait of Juan de Fuca,

Strait of Georgia The Strait of Georgia (french: Détroit de Géorgie) or the Georgia Strait is an arm of the Salish Sea between Vancouver Island and the extreme southwestern mainland coast of British Columbia, Canada and the extreme northwestern mainland coast ...

, Queen Charlotte Sound and Hecate Strait, the

Gulf of Saint Lawrence , image = Baie de la Tour.jpg , alt = , caption = Gulf of St. Lawrence from Anticosti National Park, Quebec , image_bathymetry = Golfe Saint-Laurent Depths fr.svg , alt_bathymetry = Bathymetry ...

and the

Bay of Fundy The Bay of Fundy (french: Baie de Fundy) is a bay between the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, with a small portion touching the U.S. state of Maine. It is an arm of the Gulf of Maine. Its extremely high tidal range is t ...

. Canada insists that her

internal waters According to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a nation's internal waters include waters on the side of the baseline of a nation's territorial waters that is facing toward the land, except in archipelagic states. It includes wat ...

are delimited in accordance with the rules laid out in the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), also called the Law of the Sea Convention or the Law of the Sea Treaty, is an international agreement that establishes a legal framework for all marine and maritime activities. , 167 ...

Dispute

The legal status of a section of the

is disputed: Canada considers it to be part of its

, fully under Canadian jurisdiction according to the

. The

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and most maritime nations consider them to be an international strait, which means that foreign vessels have right of "transit passage". In such a régime (''i.e.'', mode of management), Canada would have the right to enact fishing and environmental regulation, and fiscal and smuggling laws, and laws intended for the safety of shipping, but not the right to close the passage.

References

{{Reflist, 2 Geography of Canada Disputed waters Canadian legal terminology Territorial disputes of Canada Northern Canada Coasts of Canada

Definition

Dispute

See also

References