Bob Rae is defending his trip to the United Arab Emirates as an attempt to salvage a soured relationship, while a Conservative MP says the government is working on establishing a mutually beneficial relationship with its trading partner.
Rae says the U.A.E. is an important trading partner for Canada, but relations have been strained since the Conservative government denied a state-owned airline more access to Canadian markets.
Canada turned down a request from Emirates Airline for more frequent trips to Toronto. The move caused an apparent hostility between the two that led the U.A.E. to shut a Canadian military base in the country and request Canadian visitors to acquire visas before entering the country.
Rae, the Liberal Party's foreign affairs critic, returned Saturday from a trip to the region, during which he met with the government and officials with the airline industry.
"The purpose was to talk to people and defuse a situation that was becoming increasingly confrontational," Rae told CTV's Question Period on Sunday.
"The U.A.E. is a moderate country in a region that is … going through a great deal of turmoil. It is our most important trading partner in the region."
The Prime Minister's Office expressed concern over Rae's trip, suggesting that when an MP travels to another country he or she should represent Canadian interests.
Rae said that the notion that he was meddling in Canada's relationship with the U.A.E. is absurd, calling the suggestion that an elected MP is not allowed to talk for foreign officials "strange."
At least two provinces have launched their own trade talks with the U.A.E. since relations cooled with the country. Alberta has signed a letter of economic co-operation, with a provincial minister making a visit earlier this week.
Nova Scotia has also signed agreements with the oil-rich and technologically innovative country.
Conservative MP Dean Del Mastro called Rae an international doormat earlier this week and denied the government had picked a fight with the U.A.E.
"Our government has had a very aggressive bilateral trade policy. We have sought agreements with foreign countries that will benefit Canadians, Canadian jobs and benefit the Canadian economy," Del Mastro told Question Period.
"We've got to be careful when we are looking at international agreements. We have got to make sure there is something in it for both parties."
Del Mastro says the U.A.E. is the 35th largest economy in the world, while Canada is the ninth largest.
"We have a lot to offer foreign countries. That is how we have always approached bilateral trade agreements, the strength that Canada can bring to their economy."
Rae said the tense situation calls for a touch more refined than the heavy-handed approach he accuses the Conservatives of having taken so far. He said his meeting with U.A.E. dignitaries helped keep the lines of communication open.
"For Canadian interests to be defended it requires governments talking to each other with respect, it requires knowledge, it requires understanding and it requires being there," Rae said.
"This is the time for a knowledgeable, intelligent approach that really works through the question of our political interest, our economic interest and our strategic interest. I just don't see that balance from this government."
