In a coincidental appearance before the Commons defence committee, Gen. Maurice Baril, chief of the defence staff, said missile defence is political, not military. Manley said it's important for the government to consult with Canadians and with Canada's allies before formulating a firm position on the issue. Bush said he plans to send high-level officials to consult allies on the issue. Manley said Canada will continue to oppose anything like the so-called Star Wars system considered in the 1980s. The Canadian position is very clear about the non-weaponization of outer space.
Nothing proposed at the moment includes the putting of weaponry into orbit.
The Star Wars proposal included that. He acknowledged the ABM treaty is a building block of the existing security system but, he added, the system is flawed by the existence of thousands of nuclear warheads. Prime Minister Jean Chretien said Wednesday the balance that existed under the ABM treaty was adequate. But Manley said the government needs time to understand it. We need to look at it not only from the perspective of what we would like the world to be, which is a world in which there are no nuclear weapons, but also from the perspective of the world in which we live which, unfortunately, is still a dangerous place.