"Our position has always been clear: It's Canada."
-Bill Graham, Canadian Defense Minister, July 26, 2005

Hans Island is a barren but potentially valuable piece of land situated between Greenland and Ellesmere Island.
It's about the size of a football field. But it's not what you can see that matters, it's what you can't see.
Could this island be hiding a massive oil deposit? It's certainly possible.

Denmark is asserting its sovereignty over Hans Island based on the territory's proximity to Greenland.
But Denmark is forgetting that the Arctic islands were discovered by the British, not the Danish, and rights to these islands passed to Canada when Canada formally gained independence from Britain.

Let's deal with the issue of proximity to Greenland for a moment.
Since when does an island's proximity to another piece of land determine who owns it? Using this flawed logic, Aruba would belong to Venezuela and St. Pierre and Miquelon would belong to Canada.

It has also been argued that since Hans Island is a "Danish" name, the island must belong to Denmark. An island's etymology certainly does not determine who owns it.

Hans Island has always belonged to Canada.
We will continue to assert our sovereignty over this integral part of our nation.

Vital Facts and Statistics:

Population:	Zero
Endemic Wildlife:	None
Retail Outlets:	None
ATM Machines:	None
Airport:	No
Helicopter Landing Zone:	Yes
Size:	1.3 square km
Contents:	1 Canadian Flag, 1 plaque, 1 Inukshuk
Visits by a Head of State:	Zero
Visits by a Canadian Cabinet Minister:	One
Official Song:	This Land is Our Land

Further Reading:

CNN
Wikipedia
Energy Bulletin
Simon Fraser University
Washington Times
BusinessWeek
The Toronto Star

Inquiries:

hans.island@sympatico.ca