Harperites evasive on uranium exports and India’s weapons

Mulcair wants guarantees Canada won't again arm South Asia.

by Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard

OTTAWA, Straight Goods News, November 6, 2012 — In the House today Tom Mulcair asked for but did not receive guarantees that the Prime Minister's nuclear agreement with India will only be used for peaceful purposes.

John Baird sidestepped the question saying Canada, "will honour all of our international agreements to ensure that Canadian nuclear material does not make its way into a weapons program."

Mulcair told SGN, "It’s quite clear that Canada was responsible for providing the nuclear material that went into the first bombs and that we’re going back 40 years. So Canada has always taken the position that we’re going to have our own ability to control what we would be sending to India in terms of nuclear material. Our question this afternoon was whether we'd got the guarantees that we require.

"What I got from John Baird was an ambiguous response. He said we were going to respect international agreements. But he never answered the question whether or not Canada's longstanding demand that before we treat again with India in matters of nuclear material that Canada would have the ability to check and to verify. We don't have that clearly from Mr Baird. He tried to divert the question."

Mulcair wants guarantees on India agreement

© Copyright 2012 Ish Theilheimer and Samantha Bayard, All rights Reserved. Written For: StraightGoods.ca