After declining to take part in the US-led invasion of Iraq, Canada is set to just say no again to its powerful southern neighbor, this time on the issue of taking part in a controversial anti-missile shield program, Radio-Canada reported.
After weighing the highly unpopular idea for more than a year, Prime Minister Paul Martin was expected to announce a decision as soon as Thursday the report said.
Martin however was non-committal when asked by opposition legislators about a decision in the House of Commons.
“The government has stated all along that it will make the decision when and it is in Canada’s interests to do so, Mr. Speaker. That’s been our position all along. It remains our position today,” Martin said.
Well aware that the move will cool US-Canadian relations, which had started to warm somewhat after the US-led invasion of Iraq, Martin was believed to have taken the opportunity to advise Bush beforehand at the NATO summit in Brussels, the source said.
The Liberal prime minister leads a minority government and his party’s lawmakers have pressed him not to agree to take part in the program which is highly unpopular at home, particularly in Quebec.
US State Department spokesman Richard Boucher played down any potential rift with the United States, saying the North American neighbors enjoyed “enormous” cooperation in a range of areas.
As to the anti-missile shield, Boucher said, “Bottom line: it’s a decision for Canada to make or not.”
The United States and Canada agreed last August to extend the North American Aerospace Defense Command’s (NORAD’s) aerospace warning function to support missile defense.
The agreement allowed NORAD information on incoming missiles to be used by the US missile defense program, but did not require actual participation by Canadian forces, US officials said.
