[news] Angry MPs oppose missile defence: Backbenchers slam Pratt over planned talks with U.S.]

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Date: Sat, 10 Jan 2004 13:13:20 -0500
From: steven_staples at on.aibn.com
Subject: Angry MPs oppose missile defence
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Angry MPs oppose missile defence: Backbenchers slam Pratt over planned
talks with U.S.
The Ottawa Citizen
10 Jan 2004
By Tim Naumetz


Backbench Liberals are rebelling against their government's plan to
begin  missile-defence talks with the United States, saying Defence
Minister  David Pratt is "sticking his neck out" by forging ahead
without caucus  support.

The MPs reacted angrily to Mr. Pratt's move to seek more information on
the plan after CanWest News Service disclosed yesterday that a Canadian
defence department

document last year warned the missile-defence shield risks paving the
way  for the placement of weapons into space.

Three Liberal backbenchers said Canada should have nothing to do with
the  "weaponization" of space and warned that once Canada becomes
involved,  even in just information-gathering discussions, it might be
impossible to  withdraw from the scheme.

Liberal MP Bonnie Brown slammed Mr. Pratt for planning to write U.S.
Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to begin the process and

questioned whether Canada could trust any information it gets from the
White House, considering the U.S failure to back up claims Iraq was
concealing weapons of mass destruction.

"When they tell you something, will it be true?" said Ms. Brown. "There
is  the whole question of what they told us about Iraq, which has proven
to be  untrue."

Ms. Brown, Toronto Liberal MP Charles Caccia and Montreal Liberal MP
Marlene Jennings said the government should drop its plan to begin an
information exchange with the U.S., arguing Mr. Pratt failed to consult
widely with caucus members.

"I don't know any numbers (of MPs opposed), but I think that this
minister  is sticking his neck out pretty far without checking with us,"
said Ms.  Brown. "He has been the chair of the defence committee and as
such has  developed, in his few years in public life, a very
military-influence view  of the world."

Ms. Brown was also worried the defence system will restart a new arms
race  and said the government should wait to see if President George W.
Bush  survives the upcoming U.S. elections in November before beginning
any  talks with the Americans.

A Department of National Defence Department report last spring said a
"significant risk" associated with the missile-defence plan is "its
reinforcement of trends toward the weaponization of space."

The system, to cost an estimated $100 billion, will use ground-based
interceptor rockets to form a defence shield against missile attacks
launched against the U.S. The interceptors would be based in California
and Alaska.

Another Canadian military analysis of the missile shield, produced last
year, determined that putting weapons into orbit would greatly increase
the ability of the U.S. system to destroy incoming warheads.

Ms. Jennings said she is against any proposal that would lead to the
deployment of weapons in space.

"I do not want space to be weaponized," she said, noting that Canada has
  held a longstanding position opposing the deployment of weapons in
space.

"As far as I'm concerned, any discussions that should be taking place
is:  There are no weapons testing -- there is no weapons testing
whatsoever  what happens in space. I'm opposed to any kind of increase
in weapons,  weaponry, in the world."

Mr. Caccia, a former cabinet minister, said Prime Minister Paul Martin's
  cabinet must prove there is a threat of attack against Canada before it
  begins any discussions that could lead to Canadian participation in the
  system. He said the U.S. must also first prove the system will not lead
to  weapons in space.

"For the life of me, I can't see see anyone in the world who would want
to  attack Canada," Mr. Caccia said.

Michael D. Wallace
Department of Political Science &
The Liu Centre for the Study of Global Issues
University of British Columbia
Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Z1
phone:(604)822-4550, fax:822-5540