Posted on 01/14/2004 4:11:24 AM PST by Clive
Monterrey, Mexico - Prime Minister Paul Martin emerged from his first meeting with George W. Bush yesterday with agreements in hand to resolve two key bilateral disputes and a conviction that the U.S. President is willing to do more to help put Canada-U.S. relations on the right footing.
"I thought that the vibes were very, very good on both sides," Mr. Martin said after the 75-minute meeting on the sidelines of the Summit of the Americas.
The U.S. President, Mr. Martin said, is someone "who's very frank" and is quick to "look for solutions to problems." Mr. Bush returned the favour, telling reporters that Mr. Martin is "a straightforward fellow" and easy to deal with.
The two governments announced a deal that allows Canada to bid on billions of dollars in Iraq reconstruction contracts and another aimed to ensure that Canadian officials are consulted before citizens detained as security threats are deported to third countries.
"We reaffirmed the important relationship between Canada and the United States," said Mr. Bush, who clashed often with Jean Chrétien but appeared determined to make a good first impression with his successor. "It's a vital relationship. ..... We share the same values of freedom and human dignity."
Yesterday's meeting had been characterized as little more than a get-to-know-you session; the prelude to a working meeting some time in the next two months.
But it lasted longer than expected; the two men spent time alone and then were joined by officials - including U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and U.S. National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice - for a discussion over a breakfast of sausage and eggs.
Canadian officials emphasized yesterday that Mr. Bush referred to the beef and softwood industries, both now the subject of bilateral disputes, as being continental in nature. That should bode well, they said, for Canadian efforts to reopen the border to unrestricted exports.
The outbreak of mad-cow disease now afflicting both countries, will require "close co-ordination" between Washington and Ottawa, Mr. Bush said. And he cited a meeting this week of the two countries' agriculture ministers as possibly pointing the way to joint strategies.
"We've got a lot of beef going across our border," he said. Mr. Martin added later that Mr. Bush accepts that "we can't be [working] one off against the other."
The change in U.S. position regarding much of the $18-billion (U.S.) in contracts to rebuild Iraq may set a precedent for countries such as France, which also didn't back the U.S.-led invasion.
Companies will be eligible to bid on current service-related contracts in fields such as health and education, as well as existing sub-contracts and larger construction contracts down the road.
Mr. Bush brushed aside Canada's decision not to support the war (which caused him to cancel a visit to Ottawa) and emphasized the $300-million in humanitarian assistance that Canada has pledged to help get Iraq on its feet.
"They want Iraq to succeed. They want Iraq to be free. They understand the stakes."
In the wake of the Maher Arar scandal, Mr. Bush suggested the United States had been exploring formulas that would satisfy Canada's insistence that it not be kept in the dark in potential deportations, while also not tying the hands of U.S. intelligence agencies.
The result was described yesterday by Mr. Martin as unprecedented: Both Canada and the United States have promised to "consult expeditiously" whenever they are contemplating deporting a citizen of the other country to a third nation. International law requires no such step, officials said, and the United States has signed no deal of this sort with any other country.
"To the best of my knowledge, this is unique," Mr. Martin said.
Canadian officials, who wrapped up the core negotiations days ago, agreed yesterday that it does not provide a blanket ban on such deportations. No country would go that far, they contended, but the pact released yesterday should have the same impact.
"I find it difficult to envisage a situation where our American partners, who work together with us on security issues, ..... would then go ahead and do something contrary to Canadian wishes," Foreign Minister Bill Graham said. "It is a very good guarantee for our citizens."
Mr. Martin emphasized yesterday that the deal does not close the Arar file, especially when investigations remain under way into the involvement of Canadian intelligence agencies in bringing Mr. Arar to U.S. attention. He repeated that he remains determined to "get to the bottom of this."
Mr. Arar, who holds dual Canadian-Syrian citizenship, was shipped to Syria in October of 2002 after being detained in New York on security grounds. Canadian officials were aware of his imprisonment but his deportation took them by surprise. Mr. Arar was imprisoned in Syria for months, and says he was tortured before being released in the fall.
Mr. Bush made no direct mention of the Arar case after the meeting yesterday, but he agreed that the new "consular understanding" between the two countries will change things. "We owe it to the [Canadian] government to be forthcoming and forthright. ..... We will work very closely with the Martin government on passport issues."
Gee, he's not a "blind man in a room full of deaf people" after all. Who woulda thunk it?
Who is Kucinich and how does he/she/it relate to this story?
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