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Mulroney, who said that the meeting marked the beginning of "a new era in relations between Canada and the U.S.," professed to be similarly satisfied with the summit. But hardly had the Prime Minister, who was swept into power last September when his Progressive Conservative Party ousted the Liberals in a landslide that gave the Tories 211 of the 282 seats in Canada's House of Commons, returned to Ottawa when his opponents began panning his summit performance. Edward Broadbent, the leader of the socialist New Democratic Party, dismissed the Quebec City meeting as the "Shamrock Shuffle." Said he: "We've had President Reagan, regrettably, I think, calling the tune."
Other Canadians criticized Mulroney for what they perceived as his eagerness to embrace Reagan and the U.S. Though the Prime Minister said he was pleased with the agreement on acid rain, several papers took issue with his insistence that he had not come away from the negotiating table empty-handed. "The choreographed cheer in Quebec City cannot disguise the fact that the Mulroney government suffered an abject defeat on acid rain," said Montreal's English- language Gazette. "All the agreement means is that action on reducing acid rain of U.S. origin is at least a year further off. How many more lakes will be dead by then?"
Nor did all Canadians endorse Mulroney's commitment to the mutual defense of the two countries. Canadian defense experts concede that the DEW line is outdated and that low-flying aircraft and cruise missiles can penetrate it with impunity. Many Canadians also agree that the Otta- wa government, which now spends only 2.1% of its gross domestic product on defense, should do more to safeguard security. It was only last year that Canada phased out U.S. nuclear-armed air-to-air missiles from its armory, and the country is leery of any agreements that might embroil it in the Star Wars program. Thus there was a political outcry when Weinberger told the television interviewer that missile launchers could be placed in Canada to defend against Soviet bombers or cruise missiles. "Some might be here (in Canada)," said Weinberger. "It just depends on where is the most effective technical place to put them."
Weinberger's remarks were quickly clarified by the White House, which insisted that the U.S. had no plans to install an anti-cruise-missile system in Canada. But the damage was done. In a bitter exchange in the House of Commons, John Turner, leader of the opposition Liberals, dismissed the summit as "cosmetic politics" and accused Mulroney of displaying an urge to be loved rather than a willingness to make tough decisions. Other M.P.s charged that the Prime Minister was so eager to please the President that he ignored Canadian interests. "Why," asked Broadbent, "did the Canadian government do all the giving and the American government all the taking?"