Rice calls off Ottawa trip
after missile defence snub
Globe and Mail
Tuesday, March 1, 2005 Updated at 2:01 PM EST
Globe and Mail Update
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has cancelled a trip
to Ottawa planned for next month, a sign of the chilly reception
Frank McKenna can expect when he arrives in Washington Wednesday
to take up his post as ambassador.
Mr. McKenna will arrive at his post with the waters still
roiled by Ottawa's decision to opt out of the U.S. anti-missile
shield.
The move by Ms. Rice is the most public note of disapproval to
come from the Bush administration since Prime Minister Paul
Martin made his decision known late last week. To make sure that
the slight was understood, a White House official told an
Associated Press reporter that the cancelled trip was the direct
result of Mr. Martin's decision.
Ms. Rice was to have come to Ottawa in April but will instead
hold off that trip indefinitely. She is in London Tuesday for a
Mideast conference, looking at ways to support the Palestinian
Authority. At the request of Canadian officials, she was to have
met briefly with Ottawa's representatives on the fringes of the
conference.
A meeting between Mr. Martin, U.S. President George W. Bush
and Mexican President Vicente Fox is being planned, presidential
spokesman Scott McLellan told his daily briefing Tuesday. He said
that details for the previously scheduled meeting, expected later
this month, are still being worked out.
Mr. McLellan said that missile defence wouldn't necessarily
come up at that meeting. He demurred when asked whether Mr. Bush
would use the chance to push again for Canadian support for the
program.
"Our views are very well known," he said. "... we have, for a
long time, worked in a co-operative manner with Canada on defence
priorities that we both share. I expect we will continue to do
so."
Mr. McKenna steps into the role of ambassador Tuesday but will
not actually arrive in Washington for another day. He replaces
Michael Kergin, who in his farewell address Monday mentioned the
difficulty being noticed in Washington. He acknowledged in the
speech that "there is much which can bedevil our bilateral
relations" but argued that the two nations remain tightly
linked.
"We are extremely close but distinct," Mr. Kergin said. "That
distinctness brings respect on both sides and I think the
closeness breeds an understanding that, when the chips are down,
we'll always be together and allies."
Also this week is an advocacy mission led by Trade Minister
Jim Peterson. Scheduled biennially to coincide with the start of
the new congress in the United States, the expedition includes
MPs from all parties, senators and industry representatives. A
CBC report from the scene in Washington indicated that it was
well-attended and that the Alberta beef being served was
particularly popular.
Although ties between Canada and the United States remain
generally strong, most analysts say, Mr. Martin strained
relations with his decision to refrain from supporting missile
defence.
Canada had not been asked to provide either money or resources
for missile defence. It already has an indirect role in the
program because of its participation in NORAD, a defence pact
instituted in 1958 that had been modified to including tracking
incoming missiles.
Mr. Bush had obviously expected Mr. Martin to face down his
rebellious caucus and uncertain population — as had been
done on other issues by other U.S. allies, including Britain and
Australia.
He made a public appeal for Canadian support during a visit
after his re-election last November and also urged Conservative
Leader Stephen Harper to back the plan, according to Tory
insiders.
According to several accounts, Mr. Bush was incredulous that
Mr. Martin had instead let missile-defence critics take charge of
the issue, and he now feels that the Canadian leader has failed
to show leadership.
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