Canada's federal politicians continued to lay out their positions on the Iraq crisis as the clock ticked toward the Wednesday evening war deadline set by the United States.
Most Liberal MPs are backing Prime Minister Jean Chrétien's position that Canada will not support a war against Iraq without a new resolution of the UN Security Council.
One MP said the solidarity on Iraq shown by Liberal backbenchers and cabinet ministers (they gave Mr. Chrétien a standing ovation for his statement on Iraq on Monday) is unprecedented.
"I can't think of an issue, and I've been here almost 15 years, where the caucus has been so united as this one is," Liberal MP John Harvard told CBC Newsworld in Ottawa where the party's caucus met Wednesday.
Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal said that he felt U.S. President George W. Bush's ultimatum is the wrong route.
"I think it's really regrettable and unfortunate that he's made this decision, when the whole world is crying out for peace, and the public everywhere is saying don't go to war," Mr. Dhaliwal told reporters.
Liberal MP Janko Peric from Cambridge, Ont., said Mr. Bush does not care about liberating Iraq from Mr. Hussein's regime and that the struggle is really about oil.
"You think President Bush really cares about Iraqi people? I don't think so."
But Liberal David Pratt said the time has come to rid Iraq of Mr. Hussein.
"It's obviously not a popular decision, not within my own party and not within the Canadian public," he conceded. He is believed to be one of only a handful of Liberal MPs who disagree with Mr. Chrétien's position.
NDP Leader Jack Layton told CBC Newsworld on Wednesday that Mr. Chrétien should pay a personal visit to Mr. Bush and urge him not to go to war.
"We believe our Prime Minister should be in touch with George Bush. He should go to Washington and make a clear statement asking them not to invade," Mr. Layton said.
He feels Iraq should have been given more time to work with weapons inspectors.
Mr. Layton also said Canadians do not have enough assurance that the Canadian troops who are in the Persian Gulf will not be involved in any way with an attack on Iraq. Ottawa is keeping a military presence in the Persian Gulf because it does not want to insult or abandon its U.S. allies, Defence Minister John McCallum said on Tuesday.
But the Defence Minister acknowledged that Canadian warships will escort U.S. and British vessels sailing up to the northern Persian Gulf to wage war on Iraq.
Meanwhile, Canadians travelling to and from the United States should expect delays, the Foreign Affairs Department said on Wednesday. Waits will be longer at all customs and immigration points due to more complex security measures implemented by Canada and the United States, the department said.
With a report from Canadian Press
