To be in the middle. Don't think that he saw those numbers soon enough but it seems that he has had to make a statement in the House.
U.S. word on trade 'good as gold,' Rice says
In the House of Commons, Mr. Martin — responding to suggestions from the Opposition that the government's position was softening — again insisted
Canada won't negotiate with the United States on the NAFTA decision."We will not negotiate a win," he said. "NAFTA will be respected."
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20051025.wrice1025/BNStory/International/So parsing his words one can only conclude that he will negotiate but won't let go of the money bit. So how much will he have to give to get back the money?
From another article.
Rice promises to bring Canada's concerns over softwood to Washington
Rice stressed that the Bush administration wants a negotiated settlement to the dispute, and added that
she would take Canada's concerns back to Washington. http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=307d69ae-d884-48ed-886e-dc8958ab439aOne can only conclude after four years of tussles on this issue that no one is listening. If they haven't heard about it yet in Washington then what use has two US ambassadors been? One must assume that Wilkins isn't reporting the issue to Washington or that no one pays attention to him. Either way he seems to be a useless cog in the wheel.