On our behalf, our Defense Minister David Pratt has written to Donald Rumsfeld to formally indicate Canada's interest in participating "in the current US missile defence program and expanding and enhancing information exchange". The full text of Pratt's letter, along with Rumsfeld's reply, is here.
And while Pratt acknowledges Canada's long standing opposition to the weaponizing of space, he feels that's a concern we need not have.
But Mr. Pratt feels that that prospect is so remote as to pose no problem.I think I can guess at Pratt's preferred method of birth control: don't worry, honey, I'll pull out in time.“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,” he told The Globe and Mail last week. “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.”
The current White House administration believes in America's right to pre-emptively invade sovereign nations. (Given the occupation of Iraq, I don't think I need to back that up with a link.) It has moved in recent months to renew research on nuclear weapons and has stated publicly that it reserves the right to use these weapons on a first strike basis, even against non-nuclear powers. And it has a publicly stated policy of weaponizing space. (See in particular Chapter 3.)
If our government has any compelling reasons for pursuing a closer defense relationship with an American administration whose policies so clearly contradict the positions Canada has publicly taken in the past, Pratt certainly isn't presenting them. Instead he's assuring us that we need not concern ourselves simply because by the time the weapons are actually in space, some other government will be in charge.
Personally I'm adamantly opposed to the policies Pratt so clearly favours, but if a majority of Canadians disagreed with me then our government would be correct to pursue those policies. But how can we determine that without a thorough consideration of the issues and some kind of public debate? Can we agree that this represents a serious development in terms of Canadian foreign and defense policies? And all Pratt can come up with is that the logical extension of those policies won't happen for a few years so we should stop worrying and ... what? Go shopping?
I've gone on record here as saying that the Martin Liberals will win a majority government in the upcoming election. I would so love to be proven wrong.
