Regehr, Ernie

English

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maps showing the  distribution of sand, gravel,  clay, peat and glacial till. It documents permafrost - its age, distribution, effect on building construction and associated engineering problems. The book ends with five papers that focus on the economic geology of the area. The first, which synthesizes geochemical data related to gold deposits in Archean Rocks (R. Kerrich and W.S. Fyfe),  is  followed by four papers that outline geology of the  Con (H.R. Bullis, W. Pratico and D.R.  Webb), Giant Yellowknife (D.W.T. Lewis), Tom and Ptarmigan mines (J.A. Brophy). Kerrich and Fyfe’s paper is the most theoretically oriented  paper in the  book. It gives the  conditions requisite for  the  origin, extrac- tion and deposition of gold, then summarizes the geochemical characteristics of Archean gold deposits in Canada with special reference to  the Slave and Superior provinces. Following a  superb summary of geochemical data, interpretations and theories for observed element distributions, and models for origin of load gold deposits, the authors state preference for a model whereby the greenstone-belt gold deposits formed during discharge of metamor- phic and possibly magmatic hydrothermal fluids along shear zones at depth in a compressive, crustal regime. Major  crustal  structures act to focus hydrothermal discharge, generating the gold deposits. Geology of the  Con Mine is described in two papers that sum- marize the stratigraphy, complex structural deformation of ore bodies and localization of gold in quartz veins in three  major shear zones. The one-page overview  of the Giant Yellowknife Mine is disap- pointingly brief and  not very informative. The paper on  the Tom and Ptarmigan mines  (examples  of the occurrence of gold in quartz veins within highly deformed sediments of the Burwash Forma- tion) presents little more than a  road guide to the mine sites and brief descriptions of local stratigraphy and structural features. Weaknesses of the book  are mainly of an editorial nature. The title on  the front cover  is different from that  on  the inside title page. The format of the table of contents does not clearly  reflect he essen- tially threefold divisions of the book: geological setting, field  guides, and economic geology and mine descriptions. Figures are  drafted in variable styles, quality and degree of reduction. Many figures show  excellent balance, but some are reduced too small to be  legi- ble and others have  been enlarged so that lines are  unduly wide. Green  is  used on most line drawings. Although some diagrams make very effective use of colour, generally it  does not enhance, clarify or provide focus for  the diagrams. Commonly registration is inac- curate, resulting in double lines (green and black). The book uses a novel numbering scheme for figures. Figures are numbered sequentially in the first two papers but, starting at  the third paper, they  seem to be numbered according to papers, yet the papers themselves are not numbered (e.g., the first figure in the third paper is Fig. 1-1). Furthermore the instances where figure numbers referred to in the text do  not correspond to numbers on  the figures are many. In  one paper more than half of the references to figures are incorrect, in another all the figure numbers are different in the text from those on figures, and “stops” in the text are labelled differently from  those on  the guide map. One figure is erroneously reproduced twice in the  book and has no number at all! Geologists familiar with the Yellowknife area  can sort  out these errors, but for the uninitiated, this confusing numbering scheme and the numerous errors are  a frustrating annoyance. Numerous flaws occur in legends of maps. Some of these are listed on  the extensive full page of errata, but many more are not reported. The book obviously has not undergone rigorous editing or even proofreading. This well-documented and well-referenced book successfully fulfills its stated objective of providing a field guide to geology of the Yellowknife volcanic belt and its bordering rocks. Quality of reproduction is good: pleasing print and good photographs. The attractive covers in full colour show an aerial photo composite of the  Giant Mine site and  the West  Bay fau1t.m  the  front  and a series of eight photos of structures and textures of volcanic and sedimen- tary rocks on  the back. REVIEWS / 13 This book is recommended to student and professional geologists, prospectors, geotechnical engineers and historians of  the develop- ment of mining and exploration in the Yellowknife area. Since there is no attempt to simplify technical terms, the  book is not aimed at  the layperson with no previous background in geology. A future edition with the numerous minor flaws  corrected  would  be a valuable, long-lasting guide and probably a best seller among Canadian geological books. M.B. Lambert Lithosphere and Canadian Shield Division Geological  Survey of Canada 588 Booth Street Ottawa, Ontario, Canada KIA OE4 ARCTIC IMPERATIVE: IS CANADA LOSING THE NORTH? By JOHN HONDERICH. Toronto:  University of Toronto Press, 1987. 258 p. Hardbound. Cdn$24.95. Most Canadians assume their country’s military posture to be somehow connected to  the North. The DEW Line, that string of radar  stations that is supposed to tell us when Russian bears take flight over the polar ice pack and head south, is for most Cana- dians as central to their image of the  North  as are snowshoes - and most will  live out their lives  very  well thank you without much direct reference to either. All that might now  be changing - but not because snowshoes are likely to make new gains in footwear fashion. With the DEW Line becoming the  North Warning System, with plans to establish a  permanent military training base in the  North,  and with nuclear- powered submarines being sold to taxpayers on  the basis of their under-ice capabilities, the military implications of the  North are going to weigh more heavily on  the minds of Canadians - or, at the very least, on their wallets. And it is this that makes John Honderich’s Arctic Imperative so welcome. Honderich writes out of an obvious respect for the North and its peoples, and  out of an enthusiastic Canadian nationalism. He is most effective in describing current political and sovereignty disputes over the Northwest Passage. The book ranges rather wide- ly from the Arctic to discuss a  broad range of Canadian security concerns, including Canada’s military presence in Europe and the role of NATO. It is  divided into five  sections, one each for sovereignty, security, NATO, arms control, and foreign policy. The five sections are prefaced by a general discussion of the growing strategicimpor- tance of the Arctic and  the failure of Canadians  to recognize this. The  latter  he  attributes to  our “Mercator mindset.” Traditional Mercator maps, says Honderich, depict the  North  as remote and imprecise, often  blurring  distinctions between  water,  ice, and land, and trailing off into obscurity with part of the arctic archipelago, particularly Ellesmere Island,  often  cut  off entirely at  the  top of the page (p. 9). He charges that “the Arctic traditionally gets the short end of the stick” (p. 11) and urges Canadians to correct this historic indifference by coming “to grips with our true geography and  our  true place in the world. The challenges in the Arctic are real, as is the need to deal with them urgently. All that is needed now is the resolve” (p. 21). The  book is distinguished by a set of thoughtful and persuasive policy recommendations that should themselves contribute to the urgently needed national  debate on  the North. To assert Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic, particularly over the Northwest Passage, he recommends additional sovereignty air  patrols by the  Canadian armed forces, increased use and recognition of Inuit  arctic rangers, Inuit  land claim settlements that recognize long-standing Inuit use of the waters of the passage, and  an up-graded navigation service to control all commercial traffic in the passage, among other 74 / REVIEWS measures. The security recommendations include a “keep out”zone in the arctic archipelago that would prohibit submarines of either superpower from entering the zone. Here he notes that such a policy could not be advanced until Canada had installed an adequate sur- veillance  system and the capacity to verify the zone as being  observed. This in turn would require a  combination of  passive sonar surveil- lance systems and  submarines with under-ice capacity (from which he does  not conclude that nuclear-power submarines are essential). He calls for independent Canadian policies that would include more Canadian interceptor aircraft in the  North and  an indepen- dent satellite system designed for peace-time surveillance of the region. Honderich is unequivocal in rejecting Canadian participa- tion in the U.S. star wars system, elements of which imply deploy- ment in the Canadian North, and he would make continued Canadian participation in NORAD conditional on it  being separated from any strategic defence operations. He suggests closing down Canadian bases in Germany as a cost-cutting measure (to permit greater attention to the North) and calls on military  security  measures to be supplemented by arms control measures (the first of which should be the development of a Canadian expertise and a series of arms control proposals related to submarines and cruise missiles in particular). Lastly, he proposes measures to make the Arctic an integral part of Canadian foreign policy. To this end he counsels federal government support for Canadian Inuit in their member- ship in the Inuit  Circumpolar Conference, calls for a  separate divi- sion within External Affairs to  deal with the circumpolar world, and looks for increased diplomatic and cultural links with other northern countries. Unfortunately, there are also some flaws. Honderich was not well served by his editor. The book includes a surprising number of typographical and other  errors that even minimal attention from an editor could have avoided. Canada’s commitment to send troops to Norway in a crisis is described at  one point as under review (p. 150) and  at another as terminated (p.  159). There is a reference to “underwater radar” (p. 127) - a physical impossibility. CF-18 air- craft are at one point described as suitable for northern surveillance, owing in part  to their “long range” (p. 73), and  at another  point the same aircraft is described as less than ideal for arctic opera- tions, owing in part  to its “relatively short range” (p. 129). The discussions of strategic and  arms control issues are sometimes weak. A description of the difference between first- and second- strike capabilities is reduced to the explanation that  the former is derived from ballistic missiles and  the latter from cruise missiles (p.  95). It is not always clear whether his references to “the Arctic” are to  the  Canadian Arctic or international territory, an ambiguity that becomes confusion in  discussions about submarine traffic there. In an effort to portray the  Canadian Arctic as central to U.S. military strategy, he says at least twice (p. 114 and 97) that  Canadian waters provide one of the fastest and most direct routes for American attack submarines to reach  Soviet  missile-carrying submarines in the Arctic - an assertion not confirmed by a look at a  globe or map. Access to the international Arctic  could be gained  from the Atlantic through Canadian waters, but it  would  be a slow and indirect route - which does  not mean the Americans would never  have an interest in using it, but it certainly would not be a preferred route. Honderich assumes a close relationship between sovereignty and military capability - a relationship that even drives him to use the term “military sovereignty”  (p. 110). Just what “military,” as distinct from any other, sovereignty could mean is not clear and is not explained. It is certainly possible to enter into an agreement with a foreign power to have them undertake military patrols of parts of one’s territory, without undermining sovereignty - indeed such an agreement would be an assertion of sovereignty. It may  very  well undermine  national independence, but that’s not  the same thing as sovereignty. His discussion of options is not helped by his assumption that for Canada  to “pull out of NORAD” is the same thing as “going neutralist” (p. 120). The  termination of a  particular military agree- ment is not an assertion of neutrality. Canada, in fact, has hun- dreds of military agreements with the U.S., of  which NORAD is only one - albeit a  major one. The critics of NORAD  are  not by definition advocates of neutrality - in most cases  they are advocates of a more restricted alternative agreement with the U.S. - one that is focussed on early warning and excludes involvement in other nuclear and space military activity that is being drawn into NORAD. From a false assumption that  the termination of NORAD would be an assertion of neutrality, Honderich goes on  to the now familiar claim that neutrality carries a hefty price tag, witness  Sweden and Switzerland (p. 120).  Even if the neutrality claim were credible, the comparison with two European countries in radically different security circumstances from Canada would not be valid. Arctic Imperative is a somewhat flawed but nevertheless very welcome and useful book.  Canadians will  be hearing a great deal more about the Arctic and security in the coming years, and  John Honderich’s work  is a worthwhile contribution  to that discussion. Ernie Regehr Project Ploughshares Conrad Grebe1 College Waterloo, Ontario, Canada N2L 3G6 OVERLAND TO STARVATION COVE: WITH  THE  INUIT IN Edited and translated by WILLIAM  BARR. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1987. (Originally published in German as AIS Eskimo unter den Eskimos. Vienna: A. Hartleben Verlag,  1881.) 261 p., maps, illus., index, bib. Hardbound. Cdn$24.95. When Sir John Franklin’s 1845 expedition to the Arctic went  miss- ing, dozens of searches were undertaken, yet nine full years passed before any shred of information about Franklin’s fate surfaced, and that was initially only an  Inuit  account of having seen forty white men travelling southward on the sea ice. Not until five  years after that report did searchers locate the only written record to have sur- vived the tragedy. Today, the enigma persists. We know little about what happened  to  the crews of  the Erebus and Terror beyond the grim fact that every man perished. But while the many search ex- peditions answered few questions about Franklin, they produced a vastly improved map of the  Canadian Arctic. And something in the same way that those near-fruitless searches for the missing expedition led to an unanticipated wealth of geographical lore,  recently  revived interest in Franklin has enhanced our understanding of nineteenth-century attitudes toward the Arctic and its people. In the last twenty years, for example, the diary of Johann Miertsching, who accompanied Robert McClure on his expedition in aid of Franklin, has been published in English translation.  The journals of John Richardson and Robert Hood, officers under Franklin on his  1819-22 land expedition,  have  similarly come into print. At the moment, George Back’s journals from that same expedition are being edited for  publication, as are Franklin’s own field journals  and correspondence from both  the 1819-22 and 1825-27 expeditions. This activity suggests that the  formal  account carefully prepared and edited by the expedition leader does not satisfy the modern reader, who wants also to hear the more candid responses, both of the leader and of the  other mem- bers of the party. In spite of our constant striving for objectivity in most of our daily affairs, we perhaps recognize that reality is essentially a subjective experience, and accordingly we desire a multiplicity of those subjective perspectives through which to view experience. SEARCH OF FRANKLIN 1878-1880.  By HEINRICH KLUTSCHAK. 

Arctic Imperative: Is Canada Losing the North?, by John Honderich

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Arctic Imperative: Is Canada Losing the North?, by John Honderich

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