Ottawa — Stephen Harper rebuked U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins for his country's failure to recognize Canada's Arctic sovereignty – an admonition that seems designed to refute assertions he will be too cozy with the U.S. administration.
Mr. Harper's censure came in his first press conference since the Conservative election victory and after he visited Governor-General Michaëlle Jean to accept her offer to form the next government. Feb. 6 was set for the swearing-in of his cabinet.
"We have significant plans for national defence and for defence of our sovereignty, including Arctic sovereignty," the prime-minister-designate told reporters in the lobby of the House of Commons after the time allotted for questions had expired.
"We believe we have the mandate for those from the Canadian people and we hope to have it as well from the House of Commons, but it is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador from the United States."
Prime-minister-designate Stephen Harper makes his way to a news conference in Ottawa on Thursday. (Fred Chartrand/CP)
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Mr. Wilkins had reminded a panel discussion at the University of Western Ontario in London on Wednesday that the United States does not recognize Canadian sovereignty over the Northwest Passage.
"Our position is very consistent. We agree to disagree. We don't recognize Canada's claims to the waters," Mr. Wilkins said of Mr. Harper's plan to put icebreakers and military personnel in what the United States believes to be an international waterway.
However, U.S. officials have also said the disagreement is not of a magnitude that required immediate resolution.
Mr. Harper addressed the issue even though the ambassador's words were not widely reported, and no reporters asked about them yesterday. Public opinion polls suggest many Canadians distrust the administration of President George W. Bush, and it is in the best political interest of any Canadian leader to demonstrate a willingness to stand firm in matters where the two countries disagree.
When Liberal Leader Paul Martin took the United States to task during the election campaign over its response to the softwood lumber dispute and climate change, Mr. Harper accused him of engaging "in a series of phony and reckless wars of words with the United States that does not help this economy or Canadians."
But he also made it clear throughout the campaign that, though his relationship with the United States would be more cordial than that of Mr. Martin, he would respond to issues as they arise in the best interests of Canada.
Mr. Harper said he has spent much of his time since Monday's election addressing issues related to the change of government and speaking with Canadian premiers and foreign heads of state, including Mexican President Vicente Fox, British Prime Minister Tony Blair, Australian Prime Minister John Howard and Mr. Bush.
"The conversation was really congratulatory in nature," Mr. Harper said of his talk with the U.S. President on Wednesday. "We agreed that we would meet at a timetable yet to be determined to discuss a number of important issues."
Mr. Harper also met with the Clerk of the Privy Council and the Governor of the Bank of Canada, and said he plans future meetings with the Chief of Defence Staff and the Commissioner of the RCMP.
He will also have to determine who among his caucus members belongs in his new cabinet.
"I have to make a number of difficult decisions and I know it's inevitable that a significant number of people will be disappointed with the decisions that I make," he said. "But I will make the decisions in what I think are the best interests of the country and more particularly in what I think are the best interests of having a smoothly operating machinery of government."
He also acknowledged the difficulty his party may have in passing legislation in a minority Parliament. But the fact that his priority is a federal accountability act to clean up government abuse will make it easier to find early agreement, he said.
"Since every party ran on platforms that included accountability measures," he said, "I am confident that we will find broad consensus to move forward on these changes."
Although the Conservatives have their own plan for improved accountability, Mr. Harper said if Mr. Justice John Gomery's second report on the sponsorship scandal recommends measures "that are consistent with our principles and our objectives, we'll try to adopt them."
When the Liberal minority government introduced its first Throne Speech in 2004, Mr. Harper lamented the lack of input from the other parties. Asked when he will invite the opposition to help write his government's Throne Speech, he replied that he does intend to consult with the opposition leaders.
"I will be open to hearing as much input as they want to give," Mr. Harper said. "It will be ultimately my decision and the decision of our cabinet how much we accept."
On the contentious issue of same-sex marriage, he reiterated his desire to ask Parliament "sooner rather than later, but not immediately" whether it wishes to reopen the matter with the intention of restoring the traditional definition of marriage.
As to other issues arising during the campaign, Mr. Harper also noted Chinese New Year begins on Sunday and said the Chinese community deserves an apology for the head tax levied on immigrants from that country until 1923 and appropriate acknowledgment and redress.
And he said he is not in favour of paying severance to former Liberal cabinet minister David Dingwall, who resigned last year as head of the Royal Canadian Mint, because Mr. Dingwall left voluntarily.
With a report from Karen Howlett
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