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29 March 1951, Memorandum for the Minister on United States Strategic Air Command Project

Following comments and concerns from Pearson, the Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs Arnold Heeney drafts an additional letter to Washington expanding on the Canadian position. This updated position, sent at the end of March, represents a tougher stance. The letter mentions the “very real risk of misunderstanding” regarding consultation and states that the proposed canopy agreement would not give Ottawa adequate control over Strategic Air Command operations from Canada. Heeney outlines three situations in which Canada demands consultation “at the highest political level,” and concludes by arguing that any agreement should “be placed squarely upon agreed arrangements under the North Atlantic Treaty.”

 

Memorandum for the Minister, "United States Strategic Air Command Project," 29 Mar. 1951, LAC, RG 25, vol. 4758, file no. 50069-C-40, part 1; Under-Secretary of State for External Affairs to Canadian Ambassador, Washington, "United States Strategic Air Command Projects," 2 Apr. 1951, LAC, RG 25, vol. 4758, file no. 50069-C-40, part 1.

The "Canopy" Agreement
29 March 1951, Memorandum for the Minister on United States Strategic Air Command Project