Friday September 21 11:21 AM ET

Canada Unhappy About Snub in Bush Speech

By David Ljunggren

OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian government officials on Friday said they were unhappy that President Bush (news - web sites) had failed to mention Canada in a major speech thanking Washington's allies for their support.

Canada, which in many ways is Washington's closest ally, was not among the many nations which Bush on Thursday said had either backed Washington after last week's deadly attacks or had lost citizens.

``It's raised a lot of eyebrows here. We are disappointed,'' one senior official told Reuters. Canada took in around 250 airliners and 30,000 passengers after U.S. airspace was closed last Tuesday while many Canadians lined up to give blood. Around 75 Canadians are still missing.

Critics said Bush was clearly criticizing what they described as the tepid response by Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, who has kept a low profile since the attacks.

``Bush snubs us'' bellowed the sole front-page headline in the Toronto Sun, a right-wing tabloid newspaper.

No one was immediately available in Chretien's office to comment on Bush's speech. A Canadian foreign ministry spokesman denied Ottawa felt slighted, saying Canada had an excellent relationship with the United States.

``Our support and friendship is self-evident. President Bush is trying to build a broader international coalition. This is a time to share in the work, not to seek credit,'' Carl Schwenger told Reuters.

But the Sun said Bush had wanted to send a clear message to Chretien, who earlier this year privately expressed his reservations about the U.S. president and his policies.

``It just might have been deliberate -- a highly noticeable-to-Canadians way of indicating he is not getting the kind of all-out cooperation from Prime Minister Jean Chretien that he feels the present crisis demands,'' it said.

Chretien has refused to say definitively whether Canada would participate in any military action against international terrorism.

His Liberal government is resisting U.S. calls to harmonize immigration policies on the grounds that it might compromise Canadian values such as the respect for civil liberties.

``What comes around, goes around. Foot-dragging has a price. I think that the approach the government has taken in so many areas is a recipe for our marginalization,'' said Brian Pallister, foreign affairs spokesman for the opposition Canadian Alliance party.

``The United States has a fire and they want us to have a bucket. They don't want us just to send a condolence card,'' he told Reuters.

Ottawa was also paying the price for not committing itself to Washington's proposed anti-missile defense shield and for not cracking down on allegedly lax security and immigration policies which critics say has turned Canada into a haven for groups planning to attack the United States, he said.

-- Anonymous, September 21, 2001

Answers

His Liberal government is resisting U.S. calls to harmonize immigration policies on the grounds that it might compromise Canadian values such as the respect for civil liberties.

Respect for civil liberties? Like possessing your own firearm? Being free from search and seizure in your home and person without due process?

What civil liberties does he refer to? The right to die?

-- Anonymous, September 21, 2001