Can you believe this story?? Canadian troops take the Danish flags from Hans island and hand deliver them to the Danish Ambassador in Ottawa! 
I guess it's true what people are saying. Now that the Trudeau/Chretien side of the party (which has always hated the military, since the 1960s anyway) is in full retreat, the military is finally starting to strengthen and get serious about protecting this country's sovereignty again!
Troops capture Danish flags from Hans Island
Secret operation
Adrian Humphreys
National Post
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Canadian soldiers captured two Danish flags during their recent mission to Hans Island as a demonstration of Canada's sovereignty over the barren Arctic rock, according to previously classified military documents.
The flags were first taken to a Canadian military base in Yellowknife and then at least one of them was hand-delivered to Denmark's ambassador in Ottawa three weeks later. The next day, the ambassador personally repatriated it to Copenhagen, according to Danish officials.
"The first foreign items to be located on Hans Island were two Danish flags. One flag was flying on a flagpole and the other was located in a barrel near the flagpole," says a post-mission report obtained by the National Post under the Access to Information Act.
Taken from the island was a Danish national flag called the Danneborg, meaning "the cloth of the Danes," and a similar flag used only aboard naval vessels, according to the documents.
The series of mission documents -- some of which are labelled "SECRET Canadian Eyes Only" -- say the flags were later "examined and photographed" at the Canadian Forces Northern Area headquarters.
Photographs included in a report prepared for the Department of National Defence six days after the July 13 mission show two flags, one in tatters, presumably from the harsh winds in the frigid area.
But Foreign Affairs officials with both countries spoke only of one flag, the Danish national flag, being returned. No one in either country could confirm the fate of the other flag yesterday.
The Danneborg was handed to Svend Roed Nielsen, the Danish ambassador, on Aug. 2, according to Foreign Affairs Canada. The next day, the ambassador took it to Copenhagen because he was scheduled to return for meetings, a Danish official said.
"It was done with utmost care and respect, which is normal when dealing with a flag of a foreign state, and in this case, a friend and ally," said Pamela Greenwell, spokeswoman with Foreign Affairs Canada.
Anja Jeffrey, deputy head of mission at the Danish embassy in Ottawa, confirmed the transfer.
"It was turned over to the Danish authorities in an appropriate manner. There was no major problem in that," Ms. Jeffrey said.
Hans Island -- about one kilometre in diameter -- is located between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland, a self-governing territory under the Danish crown.
Both nations claim it as their sovereign territory. Negotiations over its ownership are ongoing.
The Danish military has made repeated visits to the island for decades, previously erecting a flagpole and the Danish flag. Pictures taken by Danish naval missions show the sailors in formation in front of the flag.
The July 13 mission, code-named Exercise Frozen Beaver in previous military documents but referred to as Operation Sovereign Inukshuk in the most recent release, was the Canadian Forces' first visit to the island.
The soldiers raised a metal Canadian flag and built an Inukshuk, a traditional Inuit marker.
Members of the Canadian Rangers, a largely aboriginal military unit, on the mission were armed with simple rifles and 20 rounds of ammunition each, according to the mission's operational orders.
The soldiers were issued rules of engagement that authorized them to "use force in self-defence to protect oneself [or] other members of the CF [Canadian Forces]," the orders say.
The mission was followed by a visit by Bill Graham, the Minister of National Defence, on July 20. He posed for photographs in front of the Canadian flag.
In the mission proposal, General Rick Hillier, Canada's chief of defence staff, urges Mr. Graham to send troops to the island as a sovereignty expression.
"According to Foreign Affairs, Canada's official protests of Danish actions on Hans Island are sufficient to protect our legal and sovereign interests in the short term," the proposal says.
"In the longer term, however, FAC officials maintain that Canada will likely need to do more to assert our claim and demonstrate use of the island. "A visit in the normal course of military operations would fulfill this objective."
The Post has highlighted the dispute between Canada and Denmark over the desolate, ice-bound island as one of four international boundary disputes in the north that are prompting concerns over Canada's ability to maintain sovereignty of its vast northern region.
In April, the government issued a new Defence Policy Statement that said Canada was committed to increasing the presence and activities of the Canadian Forces in the north.
© National Post 2005
I guess it's true what people are saying. Now that the Trudeau/Chretien side of the party (which has always hated the military, since the 1960s anyway) is in full retreat, the military is finally starting to strengthen and get serious about protecting this country's sovereignty again!
Troops capture Danish flags from Hans Island
Secret operation
Adrian Humphreys
National Post
Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Canadian soldiers captured two Danish flags during their recent mission to Hans Island as a demonstration of Canada's sovereignty over the barren Arctic rock, according to previously classified military documents.
The flags were first taken to a Canadian military base in Yellowknife and then at least one of them was hand-delivered to Denmark's ambassador in Ottawa three weeks later. The next day, the ambassador personally repatriated it to Copenhagen, according to Danish officials.
"The first foreign items to be located on Hans Island were two Danish flags. One flag was flying on a flagpole and the other was located in a barrel near the flagpole," says a post-mission report obtained by the National Post under the Access to Information Act.
Taken from the island was a Danish national flag called the Danneborg, meaning "the cloth of the Danes," and a similar flag used only aboard naval vessels, according to the documents.
The series of mission documents -- some of which are labelled "SECRET Canadian Eyes Only" -- say the flags were later "examined and photographed" at the Canadian Forces Northern Area headquarters.
Photographs included in a report prepared for the Department of National Defence six days after the July 13 mission show two flags, one in tatters, presumably from the harsh winds in the frigid area.
But Foreign Affairs officials with both countries spoke only of one flag, the Danish national flag, being returned. No one in either country could confirm the fate of the other flag yesterday.
The Danneborg was handed to Svend Roed Nielsen, the Danish ambassador, on Aug. 2, according to Foreign Affairs Canada. The next day, the ambassador took it to Copenhagen because he was scheduled to return for meetings, a Danish official said.
"It was done with utmost care and respect, which is normal when dealing with a flag of a foreign state, and in this case, a friend and ally," said Pamela Greenwell, spokeswoman with Foreign Affairs Canada.
Anja Jeffrey, deputy head of mission at the Danish embassy in Ottawa, confirmed the transfer.
"It was turned over to the Danish authorities in an appropriate manner. There was no major problem in that," Ms. Jeffrey said.
Hans Island -- about one kilometre in diameter -- is located between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Greenland, a self-governing territory under the Danish crown.
Both nations claim it as their sovereign territory. Negotiations over its ownership are ongoing.
The Danish military has made repeated visits to the island for decades, previously erecting a flagpole and the Danish flag. Pictures taken by Danish naval missions show the sailors in formation in front of the flag.
The July 13 mission, code-named Exercise Frozen Beaver in previous military documents but referred to as Operation Sovereign Inukshuk in the most recent release, was the Canadian Forces' first visit to the island.
The soldiers raised a metal Canadian flag and built an Inukshuk, a traditional Inuit marker.
Members of the Canadian Rangers, a largely aboriginal military unit, on the mission were armed with simple rifles and 20 rounds of ammunition each, according to the mission's operational orders.
The soldiers were issued rules of engagement that authorized them to "use force in self-defence to protect oneself [or] other members of the CF [Canadian Forces]," the orders say.
The mission was followed by a visit by Bill Graham, the Minister of National Defence, on July 20. He posed for photographs in front of the Canadian flag.
In the mission proposal, General Rick Hillier, Canada's chief of defence staff, urges Mr. Graham to send troops to the island as a sovereignty expression.
"According to Foreign Affairs, Canada's official protests of Danish actions on Hans Island are sufficient to protect our legal and sovereign interests in the short term," the proposal says.
"In the longer term, however, FAC officials maintain that Canada will likely need to do more to assert our claim and demonstrate use of the island. "A visit in the normal course of military operations would fulfill this objective."
The Post has highlighted the dispute between Canada and Denmark over the desolate, ice-bound island as one of four international boundary disputes in the north that are prompting concerns over Canada's ability to maintain sovereignty of its vast northern region.
In April, the government issued a new Defence Policy Statement that said Canada was committed to increasing the presence and activities of the Canadian Forces in the north.
© National Post 2005
