Wading into a heated Canadian debate, the White House Thursday strengthened its support for a united Canada in the face of a new drive to make Quebec a separate country. President Clinton pledged to make ties with the northern neighbor "even stronger."
Clinton, in opening a two-day summit with Prime Minister Jean Chretien, planned to modestly expand on the traditional U.S. position on the separatist movement, administration officials said Thursday.Any change in the U.S. position - which favors a united Canada - could create a stir in Canada.
Arriving in the Canadian capital, Clinton avoided the separatist issue and stressed the long history of good will between the two countries.
"Our relationship is centered on a shared continent, shared values and shared aspirations, and a real respect for our differences," he said. And Clinton saluted Chretien as "a true friend."
"I come to Ottawa to celebrate the vital friendship and the partnership between Canada and the United States and to work to make it even stronger," he said.
In recognition of Canada's French-speaking minority, Clinton opened his remarks in French, saying, "I greet our neighbors, our allies, our friends."
The president and first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton were afforded a traditional state welcoming in an airport hangar decked with huge American and Canadian flags. After solemnly reviewing the red-suited Canadian Guard of Honor, the president was formally greeted by the queen's representative in Canada, Gov. General Romeo LeBlanc.
"I hope you and Mrs. Clinton have brought your skates," LeBlanc joked.
The United States has long said it supports a strong and united Canada, and only Canadians can decide the separatist issue. Although the exact wording was still being worked out, aides said Clinton planned to go a tiny step further later in the summit and promote the merits of a multicultural society.
Aides tipped Clinton's hand hours before his meeting this evening with Lucien Bouchard, leader of the Bloc Quebecois and the most popular separatist figure in Quebec. Canadians were anxious about the meeting, the first ever audience between a separatist leader and a U.S. president.
Despite polls showing that support for independence has not grown since the last referendum on sovereignty in 1980, a White House official said Clinton felt the separatist had a certain amount of momentum coming into the summit. "In that context, we thought our statement in opposition should be a little more precise," the official said.
The United States has supported a united Canada because Quebec is one of the most populous and economically important provinces in a country. The separatist issue may be the only prospect for fireworks, after Clinton dodged a thorny border-crossing dispute on the eve of the summit.
The summit comes at a time when relations between the United States and Canada are even calmer than usual. The trade tiffs have been nearly eliminated and the neighbors recently expanded their 1988 free-trade pact to include Mexico.
Canada and the United States form the world's largest trade partnership, with more than $250 billion passing back and forth each year. The United States buys $14.5 billion more in goods and services from Canada than it sells.
"That's why this is a good time for the trip, because the time to fix the roof is when the sun is shining," U.S. Ambassador James Blanchard said.
Seeing storm clouds rising on the eve of the summit, Clinton dumped plans for a mandatory border-crossing fee of $3 per vehicle and $1.50 per pedestrian. The proposal, included in his new budget, drew opposition from U.S. lawmakers and Canadians and was abandoned Wednesday.
Under Clinton's new plan, states would get incentives to raise fees voluntarily along their borders with Canada or Mexico.
The only real business on the agenda is a plan Friday to sign an "open skies" agreement to drop outdated restrictions on passenger air service between Canadian and American cities. The leaders will launch a major new initiative to streamline border crossing.
Chretien, 61, has met Clinton several times in hopes of fostering U.S.-Canadian ties, but he is careful not to look like America's lackey. His predecessor, Brian Mulroney, enraged voters by cozying up to U.S. presidents, singing "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" with President Reagan in 1985 and fishing with President Bush.
"My view is that personal relations should not get in between relations between two countries," Chretien said.