Liberals not ruling out joining U.S. on ballistic missile defence: Sajjan
OTTAWA The Trudeau government is taking its time deciding how to protect Canada from ballistic missiles as part of a larger review of North American defences, Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan revealed Wednesday.
“When we look at what BMD (ballistic missile defence) is, what the threats are, we need to actually spend more time to making sure that we do get this right,” Sajjan said outside the House of Commons.
The comments are the first confirmation that the Liberals have not ruled out asking the U.S. to participate in its continental missile shield, which Canada famously opted not to join after a national debate in 2005.
Sajjan insisted Canada’s official position has not changed, and that ballistic missiles are only one threat being considered as the government prepares to talk to the U.S. about upgrading North American defences.
“What I don’t want is people to get fixated on one thing,” he said. “When we look at North American defence, there are other threats out there that we need to make sure we have a proper system in place.”
But he said the threat to Canada from ballistic missiles “is real,” and that they will be on the agenda when Canadian and U.S. officials meet to talk about upgrading the North American Aerospace Defence Command, known as Norad.
“We will monitor this threat and make sure that Canadian security is protected,” Sajjan said.
Hours earlier, federal Conservatives called on the government to start immediate talks with the U.S. about joining its ballistic-missile — something the Tories themselves refused to do during their near-decade in power.
Conservative foreign affairs critic Erin O’Toole explained his party’s change of heart by pointing to North Korea’s recent sabre-rattling, as well as revelations last month that official U.S. policy is to not defend Canada from a ballistic missile attack.