Ottawa — The Canadian government is about to take a big step toward joining the controversial U.S. missile shield to protect North America as Prime Minister Paul Martin and U.S. President George W. Bush are set to hold their first bilateral meeting, sources say.
The Canadian and U.S. governments will launch formal negotiations toward a Canadian participation with an exchange of letters between Defence Minister David Pratt and U.S. Secretary of Defence Donald Rumsfeld.
While there had been informal discussions previously, the letters will allow for the sharing of sensitive information on the project between Canadian and U.S. officials.
Sources said the letters will be sent in coming days. Mr. Bush and Mr. Martin will meet for the first time on Tuesday in Mexico, where the leaders hope for a thaw in Canada-U.S. relations.
"We're looking to signal interest to the Americans beyond just discussions, to actual mapping-out negotiations for a Canadian participation," a senior Canadian official said yesterday.
Another official added: "It is inching toward the inevitable."
A final decision on whether Canada will sign on to ballistic missile defence (BMD) is not expected before the next election, likely to come in the spring.
During negotiations, the federal government will push for the placement of the command centre for the missile shield within the North American Aerospace Defence command, where a Canadian officer is the second-in-command.
"We want BMD located within NORAD," a Canadian official said. "That placement is ..... very important."
It is still unclear what the United States is expecting from Canada for the establishment of the missile shield, beyond simple political support for the unproven, much-criticized project.
It is unlikely that any major equipment would be placed on Canadian soil, given the participation of European partners on the East Coast and the convenient location of Alaska on the West Coast.
Since the funding for the project is already in place in the United States, the Canadian government will not be expected to make any major cash contribution. It could, however, provide additional personnel at NORAD to work on the high-tech system designed to intercept incoming missiles.
There has also been debate as to what Canadian territory will be covered by the system. Former defence minister John McCallum has said that he hopes that Canadian cities will receive the same protection as the American ones.
Under Mr. Bush, the United States has vowed to deploy the multibillion-dollar plan in which missiles would be placed at ground and sea bases to shoot down incoming missiles from rogue states. North Korea, for example, has intercontinental capabilities and has admitted to having a nuclear-weapons program.
The Canadian government has argued that the United States is going forward with the plan with or without Ottawa's approval, and that it is only natural for the Canadian government to seriously consider a participation in the joint defence of the continent.
"I think our sovereignty depends on us being at the table when discussions are taking place about the defence of North America," Mr. Martin said last year.
But opponents argue that the plan is costly, prone to failure and could reignite an international arms race. In addition, there are concerns that the system could lead to the placement of weapons in space, which goes against Canada's official policy.
Ottawa was non-supportive of BMD until last spring, when then-prime-minister Jean Chrétien said the end of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty between the United States and the Russia made the shield more acceptable internationally.
"The situation changed when the ABM treaty was abrogated by the Americans. That changed the situation. There is a quasi-agreement with the Russians on that. As it is covering the North American continent, it is in our interest to look into the matter," Mr. Chrétien said last May. The Canadian government has argued that any placement of weapons in space as part of missile defence is years away and might never go beyond the testing stage.
If the next round of negotiations is successful, a final decision on Canadian participation in the shield will be made in cabinet. There is opposition to the project in the Liberal caucus, but that is more than compensated for by the support in the Conservative Party of Canada.
