After months of indecision and stormy bilateral relations, the Canadian government decided to hold talks with the US on joining its missile defense shield.
The announcement is expected to help mitigate tensions between Prime Minister Jean Chretien and US President George W. Bush, who are due to sit down at a dinner in Russia tonight and then attend the G8 summit in France.
"I'm pleased to announce that the government has decided to enter into discussions with the United States on Canada's participation in ballistic missile defense," Defense Minister John McCallum told Parliament.
He said any agreement would seek to meet the government's "goal of protecting Canadians and preserving the central role of NORAD in North American defense and security."
NORAD is the joint North American Aerospace Defense Command, based in Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. Canada's military fears that it could be marginalized inside NORAD if Ottawa rejects missile defense.
The US, long a critic of what it considers Canada's low level of defense spending, has urged it to join the planned defense system, designed to shoot down incoming ballistic missiles from countries such as North Korea.
Former Canadian foreign minister Lloyd Axworthy, questioning how useful the shield would be, said Chretien was simply trying to get back in Washington's good books.
"It's called atonement," he told CBC television.
Chretien spokesman Steven Hogue denied the charge. "It's our interest. It's our responsibility," he rejoined.
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