Divisions open up over missile defence
Committee meets over N. Korea threat
• Divisions over ballistic missile defence were on clear display Tuesday, as a group of parliamentarians gathered on Parliament Hill to discuss the threat posed by North Korea.
Members of the House of Commons’ defence committee agreed during a rare summer meeting to a series of emergency briefings in the coming weeks on the government’s plan should North Korea attack.
The meeting came amid mounting concerns about a potential conflict between the U. S. and North Korea, which tested a second intercontinental ballistic missile earlier this month.
But much of the discussion in the hallways before and after the meeting centred on whether Canada should join the U. S. continental missile-defence shield, after famously opting out of the system in 2005.
The Trudeau government has sidestepped questions about Canada’s intentions, saying only that ballistic missiles are one threat being discussed as Canada and the U. S. look to upgrade North America’s defences.
But one Liberal MP said Tuesday that Canada should reconsider its decision not to join the U. S. missile shield, even as the Conservatives danced around the issue and the NDP reaffirmed its historic opposition.
Liberal MP Mark Gerre- tsen said a lot has changed since then- prime minister Paul Martin decided Canada would not join ballistic missile defence in 2005.
“Personally, I think that we do need to start to look at what Canada’s role will be in that,” he told reporters after the committee meeting.
“We should be having an ongoing discussion about what our role should be in that. And I think 10 yearsplus after the fact is a timely opportunity to have that discussion again.”
Gerretsen would not comment on the government’s official position, or whether his view was shared by many other members of his party.
But fellow Liberal MP Stephen Fuhr, chair of the defence committee, noted that Canada has limited resources when it comes to defence — a reference to the fact the U. S. has spent about $ 100 billion on its missile shield.
Fuhr also played down the threat posed by North Korea.
“Even if we wind back the media in the last 30 days, I don’t think Canada was ever mentioned in the rhetoric that was flying back and forth between North Korea and the United States,” he said.
Meanwhile, Conservative MPs refused to say Tuesday where their party sits now.
The Liberals were in office when Canada declined to join the defence system in 2005, but Stephen Harper made no move to reverse course during the Tories’ 10 years in power.
Conservative defence critic James Bezan suggested his party would take a position once the defence committee is briefed on North Korea.
“So from this point forward, everyone is looking at how we can best work with the United States. How we can work through NORAD in dealing with this new threat.”
The only party with a clear position appeared to be the New Democrats, with NDP foreign affairs critic Hélène Laverdière calling on the Liberals to reaffirm their opposition to ballistic missile defence.