Canada Chairs A Busy Arctic Council

At the last Ministerial Meeting of the Arctic Council, held in Kiruna, Sweden, on May 15, 2013, the Council adopted its second international agreement, the Agreement on Cooperation on Marine Oil Pollution Preparedness and Response in the Arctic. In brief, the Agreement requires each State Party to maintain a national oil pollution response system addressing pollution in their northern waters (in Canada`s case, the waters lying north of the 60th parallel of North latitude), together with a national contingency plan. The Parties must also establish a minimum level of pre-positioned oil spill combating equipment, a program of exercises for the response organization, a training program for personnel and a competent national authority responsible for preparedness and response. A national, 24-hour-a-day operation contact point, where oil pollution reports can be received and transmitted, is also compulsory for each State Party, as well as an authority entitled to act on