Harper Will Reverse Canada's Position on US Ballistic Missile Defense

Another disasterous about face on established Canadian policy will follow a Harper majority: Harper open to missile-defence talks with U.S.

Stephen Harper said a Tory government would consult Parliament about whether Canada should join the U.S. missile-defence system.

Harper told Radio-Canada in an interview Thursday that he would wait for a formal, written offer from the U.S. before deciding whether Canada should participate in the ballistic missile defence program.

Prediction: the written offer will show up soon after any Harper-led majority. If he wins a minority, the American’s, and Harper, will back off until the next election, where Harper is almost certain to get a majority.

Make no mistake – a Harper minority is an easy stepping stone to a Harper majority. I disagree with Harper on a great many issues, but I would never suggest that he is not cagey enough, and ruthless enough, to stickhandle his coalition of radicals and moderates through a minority in good shape to win a significant majority, at a time of his chosing.

Canadians if given the facts on Ballistic Missile Defense will sound a resounding NO! but it doesn’t seem that the inept opposition – Liberals and NDP alike – are very effective at raising issues of true historic national importance to a useful level of public awareness.