Supposed NAFTA summit with Bush now security focused 
by Romeo St. Martin

[PoliticsWatch Updated 1:45 p.m. March 21, 2005]

OTTAWA  — Security issues will trump improving NAFTA at the first-ever joint meeting of U.S. President George W. Bush, Prime Minister Paul Martin and Mexican President Vicente Fox in Texas on Wednesday. 

In Ottawa on Monday, senior government officials provided reporters with a background briefing on the summit, which the prime minister had said was organized to discuss improving NAFTA. 

"I raised with President Bush when he was here that there are a number of areas within NAFTA that really require looking at," the PM told reporters in Fredericton in January. "The constant winning of panel battles - in the case of softwood lumber, for example - really does indicate the need for a better dispute settlement mechanism.

"What I said is, 'Listen, there are gaps in NAFTA and they've got to be fixed.'"

However, the dispute resolution mechanism in NAFTA was not mentioned as part of the official discussions the three leaders will have. 

But government officials said they believe the issue will come up in the talks as Fox has similar concerns about NAFTA as the PM. 

"That will be a topic of discussion even it's not mentioned in the communiqué," a senior government official told reporters. 

Currently, Canada and the U.S. are embroiled in a softwood lumber battle in which Canada has won a number of NAFTA panel rulings against the U.S., but the U.S. has largely ignored the spirit of the rulings or has used every available mechanism of appeal. 

A U.S. official said earlier this year that the U.S. was not bound by the decisions of the NAFTA panel. 

A new Canadian proposal to the U.S. aimed at resolving the softwood dispute is contingent upon the creation of a new dispute resolution mechanism. 

The mechanism would provide mediation to settle a dispute. If that fails, the parties would be allowed to take the matter to a binational panel or tribunal.

The decision of that panel would be binding and not subject to appeal.

Whether this new mechanism is within or outside of NAFTA has yet to be determined. 

Government officials are downplaying the possibility of any big stories coming out of the summit, telling reporters not to expect a "big bang."

The discussions are expected to focus on the issues of security, removing regulatory barriers and quality of life issues such as environmental and health matters. 

The three leaders are also expected to discuss holding regular summits. 

On the two big trading issues between Canada and the U.S., officials said they do not expect any announcements on the softwood lumber or BSE files. Talks to end the softwood lumber dispute will begin in Toronto this week, and government officials believe the U.S. administration is on its side in terms of reopening the U.S. border to Canadian cattle. 

But the PM is expected to raise those issues with Bush in an informal lunch later in the day at Bush's Crawford ranch. 

The PM is also expected to voice Canada's opposition to U.S. Senate's recent approval of a plan to begin drilling for oil in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Bush is a proponent of drilling in the refuge as a way to reduce the U.S.'s dependence on foreign oil. 

"There is some time at the ranch over lunch for the prime minister to flag those disputes," a government official said. 

One thing that will not come up, according to officials, was Canada's recent decision not to sign on to the U.S. missile defence system, which some in the U.S. viewed as the latest Canadian snub of a U.S. military initiative. 

The prime minister said at the Liberal convention earlier this month that after a phone conversation with Bush the matter was in the past. 

"The president and I agreed and he said it: `The BMD decision has been taken and it is now time to move on to other things,'" said Martin. 

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