[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 105 (Wednesday, July 23, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S7897-S7898]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[[Page S7897]]
                  CONDEMNING THE GOVERNMENT OF CANADA

  Mr. STEVENS. Mr. President, very soon, Senator Murkowski will submit 
for himself, for me, and for Senator Gorton and Senator Helms, a 
resolution condemning the Government of Canada for its failure to 
protect the right of innocent passage of the Alaska ferry Malaspina in 
the Canadian territorial sea. The Malaspina entered the Port of Prince 
Rupert on Sunday morning and was blockaded by, we are told, about 200 
Canadian fishing vessels and was prevented from leaving that port.
  On Sunday, at the request of the State of Alaska, a Canadian court 
issued an injunction against the blockaders. The governments of Canada 
and British Columbia ignored the court's directions to enforce that 
injunction. The Malaspina was finally able to leave Prince Rupert on 
Monday evening, only when the Canadian fishermen agreed to end the 
blockade.
  In my judgment, through its inaction, the Government of Canada has 
exhibited a disregard for its own domestic laws, for international law, 
and for what I would call the concept of being a good neighbor to our 
country, the United States.
  Mr. President, over the past 3 years the Government of Canada has 
shown a pattern of complacency--and, in some cases, complicity--in the 
harassment and illegal treatment of United States vessels and our 
citizens.
  In 1994, Canada charged an illegal transit passage fee to United 
States fishing vessels proceeding from the Seattle area north to 
Alaskan waters. Following that, at my request, Congress directed the 
State Department to reimburse these United States fishermen and to seek 
repayment from Canada for the illegal fees that were imposed upon our 
citizens. To date, Canada has not repaid and, as a matter of fact, has 
ignored the request for reimbursement to the United States for these 
costs.
  The Government of British Columbia continues to seek to prevent use 
by the United States of an underwater missile testing range that is 
critical to NATO activities, at a place called that Nanoose Bay. I 
found that to be unacceptable, Mr. President. To have one NATO partner 
use land that has been made available under NATO for leverage on a 
fisheries issue is unprecedented.
  The United States vessels have also periodically been harassed by the 
Governments of Canada and British Columbia under the guise of 
enforcement of Canada's customs laws. My colleague and I are here today 
to call on the Government of Canada to put a stop to these actions. We 
ask that the President of the United States now take action to ensure 
that harassment of our citizens comes to an end.
  The measure my colleague will submit condemns the Government of 
Canada for its failure to protect United States citizens from these 
types of illegal actions and harassment while our people exercise their 
absolute right for innocent passage through these Canadian territorial 
waters. They are international waters under international law and 
available to our people just as our inside passage in southeast Alaska 
is available to and used by the Canadian people.
  Our resolution calls on the President to ensure that this pattern of 
harassment will not continue. We ask that the President use assets of 
the United States to protect our citizens if necessary, and, also his 
authority to prohibit the importation of Canadian products into this 
country until Canada agrees to protect our citizens.
  We also believe the President should find a way to provide financial 
support to those who were damaged by the blockade of the Malaspina.
  Mr. President, there were, I am told, over 300 people on board that 
vessel, and many had to be removed and transported by air to Alaska. In 
addition to that, it is my information that the Malaspina carries the 
United States mail. It is absolutely unheard of for the Government of 
Canada to interfere with the delivery of United States mail.
  I hope that Congress will consider favorably the resolution that my 
colleague will introduce, and we intend to consider other measures as 
well.
  We have already passed a bill and sent it to conference with the 
House that will deny funds for the environmental cleanup of defense 
sites that were used by Canada and the United States during the cold 
war period because of the action of British Columbia authorities to try 
to discontinue our use of Nanoose Bay. That, Mr. President, is 
essential to our testing program for torpedoes. It has been a joint 
venture between our Canadian neighbors and our Nation in defense 
efforts for many years. I am really saddened by that in terms of our 
relationship for our mutual defense. But we believe that we should 
assure that Canada will protect our citizens as they exercise their 
right of innocent passage through Canadian waters, and we believe very 
sincerely that Canada or its citizens should repay those people that 
have been damaged by the illegal blockade of the Malaspina.
  We also call on Canada to repay the United States the illegal transit 
fees that were charged to our fishing vessels in 1994. And, further, we 
plead with Canada and its citizens to match the good-faith efforts of 
the United States to continue to negotiate and renew the Pacific salmon 
treaty.

  Mr. President, it is a time for leadership in these matters. We risk 
getting more and more rhetoric involved. I have tried to be restrained 
today. I think Alaskans share this point of view, but we are pushed to 
increase the stakes.
  Our people are most upset. They are even more upset by the act of 
burning our U.S. flag. I think for a neighbor that shares such a long 
border to allow citizens to burn a flag of this country is really 
uncalled for. I don't know really how to express our deep concern about 
that. To my knowledge, there has been no action at all taken with 
regard to that. We have a flag-burning issue here in our own country. 
But to see it done as an act of defiance by people illegally blocking 
the ferry owned by our State is upsetting. That vessel is owned by the 
State of Alaska, and it is part of the trek for people who come from 
all over the world. Many take a ferry up to Canada. Then they take a 
Canadian ferry from Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert. They take the 
Alaska ferry on up into Alaska. It is a right of all vessels to have 
innocent passage through the waters of a neighboring country.
  This blockade of our vessel on top of the harassment and seizure of 
our fishing vessels is too much, Mr. President.
  I don't know. We are few in number in Alaska. If this happened to 
California, there would be 54 Members of the House talking about it. We 
have one. And, unfortunately, right now he is recovering from a very 
serious operation.
  But, Mr. President, the rights of American citizens should be 
protected by our Federal Government. We have heard nothing really yet 
from our National Government in response to these measures. I think 
that it is high time that this Government stands up to Canada and 
explains once again what the role of good neighbors really must be.
  I do not want to get to the point where we really have to start 
retaliating and raise the level of this rhetoric even further. But, 
clearly, those people who say, ``Well, now, just let it cool off,'' 
don't understand. We cooled off after 1994 when they put our people in 
jail and charged them fees. Congress agreed, and we paid the fishermen 
back for the fees they paid to the Government of Canada. Now we see our 
vessel with 300 Americans on board held up for more than 2 days, denied 
the right to keep their schedule and go on to Alaska according to the 
ferry schedules.
  Mr. President, I hope the Senate and the Congress will view this 
matter with as deep concern as we do and will assist Alaska in assuring 
that we have the same rights of all Americans as we try to pursue our 
right of innocent passage through the territorial sea of our 
neighboring country.
  I urge the support of the measure prepared by Senator Murkowski. This 
happens to be the part of our State that Senator Murkowski came from. 
He knows Ketchikan very well, and he is proud about his heritage and 
about the area he comes from. He has transited these waters down to 
Seattle many times.
  I sincerely believe there must be some recognition by the Government 
of Canada and the Government of the United States of this trespass on 
the rights of Alaskans and other Americans that were on board the 
Malaspina.

[[Page S7898]]

  I yield the floor.

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