Ulterior Motives?

           While this expedition is good for many researchers and for mapping out the sea and making it safer for ships traveling through the area, one has to wonder, are there ulterior motives to the Canadian government backing up this expedition? The answer to some is an obvious yes.
 

Icebreaker, Sir Wilfred Laurier. Some say the massive red and white ship is a symbol of Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic.

            For Geiger, who is the editorial board editor for the Globe and Mail, the government’s willingness to incest in the Franklin search signals that there is far more going on with this project than simply an interest in finding two old ships. An investment like this simply for the pursuit of historical knowledge is unprecedented. Some view is as a way to assert Canadian sovereignty over the Arctic Islands and waterways. This is becoming more significant as the climate change is affecting the north and opening it up to more foreign vessels.  Canada is using the Franklin shipwreck to assert a greater claim over the Northwest Passage; though this is debated by many as having no real political impact on these affairs.