Parliament will get an opportunity to debate and vote on a new NORAD deal before it's signed, Prime Minister Stephen Harper says.
"I am anticipating that we will be announcing this in the very near future, and as we have indicated to the opposition, we will be bringing this to Parliament for a full debate and a vote before we finalize the agreement,'' he told reporters Saturday before a provincial Tory fundraiser in Moncton, N.B.
The Conservative government recommitted Canada to the NORAD (North American Air Defence Command) agreement on Friday, giving new responsibilities to the military alliance in a quiet, unannounced ceremony in Ottawa.
The current deal was set to expire on May 12.
The new deal commits Canada to "indefinite" participation in the air defence pact, and gives NORAD the new responsibility of watching out for terror attacks by sea.
"I am not in a position to give you a definitive answer on that,'' said Harper. "I know there have been proposals looking at some extensions of NORAD into the maritime area, but those haven't been finalized.''
Dawn Black, the NDP's defence critic, scoffed at the notion of debate and a vote.
"It's a done deal," she said. "Our minister of national defence has signed this agreement with the American Ambassador David Wilkins. It's a done deal, so it makes a hypocrisy out of any form of democratic discussion or debate."
Added Liberal MP John McCallum: "They seem to be doing this in secrecy, which is becoming a pattern."
CTV's Rosemary Thompson said the government told the opposition it wouldn't accept any amendments -- a way to fast-track the treaty through Parliament before Harper visits U.S. President George W. Bush in Washington this spring.
The new agreement on the North American Aerospace Defence Command was signed by Defence Minister Gordon O'Connor and the U.S. ambassador to Canada David Wilkins, U.S. State Department spokeswoman Janelle Hironimus told the Toronto Star newspaper.
O'Connor announced earlier this month that an expanded agreement was in the works that would give NORAD more responsibility.
The government made no official mention that the deal had gone through, however, until a defence department spokesman confirmed to the Star on Friday that the agreement had been signed.
Hironimus said the agreement does give NORAD new responsibilities.
"The new agreement expands NORAD's mission by adding maritime warning to NORAD's aerospace defence mission,'' Hironimus told the Star.
NORAD has previously only been responsible for guarding North American skies from attack.
The new deal has no expiry date and will continue indefinitely, unlike the current arrangement which was set to run out in mid-May.
Hironimus said that detail illustrates the "mature" nature of the defence relationship between the two nations.
Canada will still abstain from involvement in the controversial missile defence program, a decision made by former prime minister Paul Martin last year.
NORAD was first established in 1958 to protect Canada and the U.S. from the perceived threat of Soviet air attacks.
In the wake of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, NORAD took on a greater responsibility for protecting against airline hijackings.
With a report from CTV's Rosemary Thompson
