Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief spokesman Dimitri Soudas just let reporters know that Moammar Gadhafi will be coming to Canada on his way back to Libya from the United Nations meetings in New York. Soudas just distributed the following to reporters:
Libyan leader Gaddafi is making a one day stopover in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, on his way back to Libya from New York where he attended the United Nations General Assembly.
This is not an official visit to Canada.
It is common practice for planes’ of Heads of State and Government undertaking transatlantic flights to perform refuelling and undergo short stopovers in Newfoundland and Labrador due to its geographic location.
Prime Minister Harper has asked Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to go to St John's and meet the Libyan leader. Minister Cannon will voice Canada's strong disapproval over the hero’s welcome organised for Abdelbasset Al Maghrahi, the man responsible for the Lockerbie terrorist bombing. It constituted an insult to all the victims who died including Canadians.
A dictator (in all but name) and highly suspected terrorist financier Muammar al-Gaddafi is to be greeted by the Harper Conservatives and allowed to enter Canada. However, back in March 2009, British MP Mr. Galloway was denied access to Canada by the same Harper Conservatives.
The laughing stock Jason Kenney even stated at the time, “I would not be interested in doing so in this case [overturning the ban on Mr. Galloway's entry into Canada]. I believe that folks who are supporting or promoting and helping terrorist organizations are not needed to visit Canada.” So the question becomes, why do the Harper Conservatives accommodate the (alleged) terrorist in Canada? Law and Order Conservatives? Nope!
“It is common practice for planes’ of Heads of State and Government undertaking transatlantic flights to perform refuelling and undergo short stopovers in Newfoundland and Labrador due to its geographic location.”
read much?
Galloway flew through Canadian airspace on his way to address the U.S. Congress on May 17th, 2005.
What he isn't allowed to do is leave his aircraft (or at best the airport grounds) and wander around town.
Perhaps the better question is, what is Gaddafi's itinerary for the stopover? Is he actually leaving the airport and heading in to town?
Will that plane be on Canadian land? Yes it will! Therefore, it, and its occupants, are in Canada!
You also forgot to include this, “Prime Minister Harper has asked Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon to go to St John's and meet the Libyan leader.”
Read much?
I don't think Cannon and Gaddafi will be having tea and crumpets.
Maybe not even some of this: http://www.screechrum.com/home.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090924/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_libya_gaddafi
“Thu Sep 24, 3:38 pm ET
OTTAWA (Reuters) – Canada will rebuke Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi during a brief stopover in the country, telling him Libya's warm welcome for the man convicted of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing was an insult to the victims.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper will dispatch his foreign minister, Lawrence Cannon, to deliver the official protest in St. John's, Newfoundland, his spokesman said on Thursday. …”
Whether or not the meeting is cordial or not doesn't detract from Anon's main point:
It looks stupid for Canada to have blocked a sitting MP of a democratic nation on the basis of his support for Hamas, when we are prepared to let in Col. Gaddafi who is on record not just funding terrorism, but actually helping to engineer a specific act of mass murder.
David, if I were you I would ask someone in DoT whether this stopover is truly necessary. Gaddafi's aircraft is an A340-200, one of two operated by Afriqiyah Airways (5A-ONE is a typical example). The A342 has an unrefuelled ferry (i.e. empty) range of about 8,000nm and at typical airline operating weights (263 pax + baggage, fuel reserves etc) can fly from Paris to Taipei, a 5,294nm trip.
It's not going to carry that many in a VIP configuration, but let's assume Afriqiyah has used the remainder of that payload capacity to equip ballistics armour, secure comm gear, missile countermeasures, etc. The distance from New York-Tripoli on a great circle route is 4,051nm. If the aircraft can make 5,294nm unrefueled, what's the necessity of this pit stop? It can fly New York-Tripoli direct, with the Azores as a possible divert point should it run into a mechanical or fuel issue.
Oh, please – if this isn't vote buying political posturing by Harper, I don't know what is.
Yup – folks – a set up in Harper's continual election campaign on OUR money. Is the media going to accept this?
Shame on Harper.
Cancelled!
See! Who needs the wrath of Harper raining down.