Russia's flag waving

Russia recently planted a flag at the North Pole, claiming the land for mother Russia. Canada previously has claimed the land, and Canada's Foreign Minister said, "Our claims over our Arctic are very well-established. There is no threat to Canadian sovereignty in the Arctic and as you know, we've made very strong commitments, the prime minister has been there recently, may be there again (soon), so we're not at all concerned about this."

I don't think that Russia is just contemplating an upcoming trial to quiet title to the North Pole. I think that if the land does have valuable oil and gas underneath it that Russia will do whatever it takes to claim the land. They're also an arctic nation, so they may feel a valid claim to the land. More importantly, they also have the military to enforce that claim -- I'm not sure if Canada is willing to do so. What will Canada do? Go to the United Nations? Without the US, actions by the United Nations proved to be meaningless in Iraq. Though the North Pole may be quite important in terms of oil, Russia also has nuclear weapons. Attacking them isn't like attacking Iraq. It seems the best action by Canada might be to have American forces protect their property interest in the pole before the Russians do the same. I'm thinking having Canadian forces protecting the land just wouldn't have the same deterrent effect.