Ottawa — Canada is entering into final negotiations on joining the controversial U.S.-built anti-missile shield without guarantees that the project will never lead to placing weapons in space.
Instead, Canada and the United States have decided to hold talks on current plans to create a land- and sea-based system, while agreeing that any decision on weapons in space is more than a decade away.
In the meantime, Canada will remain opposed to weapons in space, while the United States will pursue development of a new generation of space-based weapons.
To move ahead on the Earth-based project, the two countries will soon proceed to an official exchange of letters, allowing Canada to receive top-secret information on U.S. plans. Canada will have to decide before the fall whether to officially join the project, which aims to defend North America against a foreign missile attack with the use of interceptor missiles.
Defence Minister David Pratt said Canada will not boycott the ballistic missile defence system (BMD) because of the possibility that it could one day lead to putting weapons in space.
“I think there is a recognition that even the possible use of weapons in space is so far off into the future, that this is not a concern that we're having to deal with, with the Americans. What we're dealing with in terms of this phase is a land-based system that is going to be involved in mid-course interception [of missiles],” he said in an interview.
Mr. Pratt said placing weapons in space has proven technologically impossible in the past, and any success is at least a decade away.
“This is not an issue that this government will have to deal with, that the next government is going to have to deal with, or even the government after that. This is so far off into the future that it may never happen,” he said.
Still, the New Democratic Party and other left-wing groups promised a vigorous fight, saying the government of Prime Minister Paul Martin is supporting plans for a “Star Wars missile defence” program.
“The Americans are not in doubt about this,” NDP Leader Jack Layton said, pointing to official U.S. documents detailing plans to place missiles and other weapons in space.
“It's only in Canada that they're trying to pretend this is not the weaponization of space.”
Canada's decision to move ahead on BMD comes just before Mr. Martin and U.S. President George W. Bush hold their first meeting next week.
The United States has vowed to deploy a multibillion-dollar system in which missiles would be placed at ground and sea bases to shoot down incoming enemy missiles. Long-term plans include putting missiles and interceptors in space to defend North America.
Canada's involvement in BMD is leaving some Liberals uncomfortable.
MP Bonnie Brown said it would be naive to believe that Canada is still in a position to stay out of BMD after entering into the final phase of talks.
“What is [Mr. Pratt's] exit strategy?” she asked in an interview.
In a vote in the House last year, 38 Liberal MPs expressed reservations about BMD. But the opposition in the Liberal caucus is offset by strong support in the Conservative Party of Canada for the project.
Mr. Layton is hoping that BMD will become an election issue and attract left-leaning Liberals to his party. He attacked the government's decision as “profoundly wrong,” too costly and destabilizing for world peace.
“This system will protect no one,” Mr. Layton said, pointing out that many U.S. tests have failed.
He added that the former Liberal minister of foreign affairs, Lloyd Axworthy, is also opposed to missile defence. Mr. Layton called on all like-minded Liberals to come to the NDP.
During negotiations, Ottawa will push to have the command centre for the missile shield within the North American Aerospace Defence command, where a Canadian officer is the second-in-command.
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.
Because funding is already in place in the United States, Canada will not be expected to make any major cash contribution.
