Investigator doc on CPAC this weekend

The Franklin-expedition wreck discoveries that northern exploration enthusiasts are really waiting for are the Erebus and the Terror. 'Cause they really are lost. No one knows precisely where or even when they sank or wrecked. Finding them might produce new answers, or new puzzles, about the end of the ill-fated Franklin naval expedition of the 1840s.

That has not happened yet. Instead this summer Parks Canada announced discovery of HMS Investigator, one of the ships engaged in the search for Franklin. This was no small feat of underwater archaeology, given the location, the age of the wreck and so forth, but less exciting, because everyone has always known exactly where the Investigator was: captain and crew survived to tell the tale and draw the map.

This Sunday, the Canadian Parliamentary Access Cable Public Affairs Channel presents a very up-to-date documentary on this summer's Investigator project. Why CPAC? Well, apart from the fact that History Television never does anything this ambitious, CPAC's promo may suggest part of the reason:

Join CPAC for exclusive broadcast footage of the journey to Mercy Bay in the Northwest Territories, and for a look at what this discovery signifies for Canada’s claims to the north. (italics added)

What does the Investigator wreck signify for Canada's claims to the North? Is that why a cabinet minister was onhand?

"The Hunt for HMS Investigator: History and Canada's Claim to the Arctic" is on your CPAC channel Sunday, August 22 at 9 pm. CPAC promo here. Looks like great footage.

Update, August 26: Good program, actually, though I'm a sucker for Arctic filming almost anytime. CPAC is rerunning it periodically on TV, and it's viewable from CPAC online too.