Canada, Denmark to talk Hans

The prime minister of Denmark, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, said earlier this week that his government will start talks with Canada this fall on resolving their minor territorial dispute over Hans Island.

Rasmussen told the Danish news agency Ritzau that foreign ministers from Canada, Denmark and Greenland will start talks on the issue this September, at the same time as the U.N. general assembly holds its fall session.

Though Canada and Denmark co-operate in many areas related to the Arctic, including a $75-million undersea mapping project in the High Arctic, the Hans Island spat has aroused public opinion in both countries.

This year’s Hans Island headline hunt was kicked off this past July, when Canada’s defence minister, Bill Graham, made an unannounced visit to the island about a week after a small Canadian military unit had planted a flag and erected an inuksuk on it.