Toronto — Washington delivered a stern message to Canada on Tuesday, saying Americans feel disappointed and betrayed by the Canadian decision to stay out of the war in Iraq.
At a breakfast speech to the Economic Club of Canada, Paul Cellucci, the U.S. ambassador to Canada, said "there is a lot of disappointment in Washington and a lot of people are upset" about Canada's refusal to join the United States in its efforts to depose Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.
Although the relationship between the two countries will endure in the long-term, he said, "there may be short-term strains here."
When asked what those strains will be, Mr. Cellucci replied: "You'll have to wait and see." But he cryptically added that it is his government's position that "security trumps trade," implying possible ramifications for cross-border traffic.
The United States believes that the war is a necessary step in the global war on terrorism, said the ambassador, arguing that any nation such as Iraq that possesses weapons of mass destruction that could be given to terrorists poses a direct threat to the people of the United States.
So Americans are hurt and upset that Canada would not join in the fight against that threat, he said.
"There is no security threat to Canada that the United States would not be ready, willing and able to help with. There would be no debate, there would be no hesitation," Mr. Cellucci said. "We would be there for Canada, part of our family, and that is why so many in the United States are disappointed and upset that Canada is not fully supporting us now."
In response, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien said Tuesday that although Canada does not support military action in Iraq, relations between the countries are "important for both of us."
Mr. Chrétien spoke in Ottawa, where he stopped briefly to talk to reporters Tuesday morning after a cabinet meeting.
Although he is "disappointed" that Canada is not in agreement with the U.S. on this issue, the Prime Minister emphasized that Canada is still an autonomous country.
"We have the right as an independent country to make our own decisions," he added.
A vote on a Canadian Alliance motion supporting Canada's military participation in Iraq was defeated in the Commons Tuesday, 183 to 60.
Mr. Chrétien said Canada is still supporting the United States in other important global matters.
"We are working with them in the war against terrorism. We will have troops in Afghanistan. We have our ships there to make sure that the people working on the war against terorism can circulate in that area, and that they are protected," he said.
On border security, Mr. Chrétien said Deputy Prime Minister John Manley has been in touch with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in recent days.
"I think we have maintained normal relations with them," he said.
Mr. Cellucci said recent displays of anti-Americanism had not helped the Canada-U.S. relationship. The labelling of Americans as "bastards" by Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish, the booing of the U.S. national anthem at a hockey game in Montreal, and the suggestion by Natural Resources Minister Herb Dhaliwal that U.S. President George W. Bush is a failed statesman have all received much press south of the border.
"When [Alberta Premier Ralph] Klein issues strong support for the United States, the Canadian government comes down hard on him. When Mr. Dhaliwal makes totally inappropriate remarks about the President of the United States, they kind of ignore it," Mr. Celluci said.
It would help the relationship, he said, if Mr. Chrétien would address that problem.
With a report from Allison Dunfield
