Canada and Denmark have resolved their decades-long border dispute over the Hans Island, a small island located in the Arctic sea passage between Greenland and Ellesmere Island..Under a new agreement, a border will be drawn across the 1.3 km wide, uninhabited island, dividing it between the Danish territory of Greenland and the Canadian territory of Nunavut..Both countries plan to unveil the settlement on the 14th June as an example of how countries can resolve border disputes peacefully..The dispute over the island’s territory can be traced back to the 1970's, when the countries were negotiating their maritime boundary. The island’s status was left to be settled in the future..The island has received media attention due to the light-hearted nature of the border dispute. In 1984, the Danish Minister for Greenland planted the Danish flag and a bottle of Schnapps on the island, and left a message saying "Welcome to the Danish Island." .The Canadians later reciprocated with their own sign, the flag of Canada and a bottle of Canadian Club. This back-and-forth stunt has continued for decades..The dispute has occasionally heated up during training exercises conducted by the Canadian Armed Forces near the island..After Canadian Defence Minister Bill Graham visited the island in 2005, Denmark's foreign ministry said "we consider Hans Island to be part of Danish territory and will therefore hand over a complaint about the Canadian minister's unannounced visit.".Aluki Kotierk, president of Nunavut Tunngavik Inc. (NTI), the legal representative of the Inuit of Nunavut on native treaty rights and treaty negotiation, said the dispute has never troubled the Inuit.."Regardless, it is great to see Canada and Denmark taking measures to resolve this boundary dispute,” Ms. Kotierk said in a statement..“As geographic neighbours with family ties, Inuit in Nunavut and Greenland recognize the significance of working together toward our common future. NTI expects this long-standing relationship between Inuit in Nunavut and Greenland to be a symbol of continued co-operation between Canada and Denmark.”
