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Just months before the Canadian military was told to leave its secret base in the United Arab Emirates, Defence Minister Peter MacKay assured that country's foreign minister he would make it his "personal mission" to immediately deal with the rising tensions between the two nations.
Defence Department officials, who saw the UAE as a key ally in the region and the future site of a long-term military logistics installation, also asked MacKay to impress upon Prime Minister Stephen Harper the importance of the relationship between the two countries and the need to deal quickly with a dispute over air landing rights in Canada.
But MacKay's efforts foundered, with Canada refusing to budge on granting UAE airlines permission to fly into Toronto on a more regular basis and the UAE — in retaliation — informing the Canadian Forces last year it could no longer use the base outside Dubai.
The newly released Defence Department documents obtained by the Ottawa Citizen under the Access to Information law provide a rare behind-the-scenes glimpse of a dispute critics say seriously harmed Canada's relationship with its top trading partner in the Middle East.
At stake was Canada's main supply base supporting its Afghan war effort. The UAE had allowed Canada to operate Camp Mirage rent-free since December 2001 and provided access to the port of Fujairah for moving Canadian equipment out of Afghanistan. The UAE also sent special forces to join coalition troops in Kandahar.
But according to the documents the UAE approached Canada in 2007 for several considerations: it wanted to begin negotiations to allow UAE airlines to land at Toronto's airport more than three times a week and to allow UAE government representatives and citizens to enter Canada without visas, mirroring the process the UAE had already extended to Canadians.
But the Conservative government refused to deal on the airline issue. Transport Canada had warned the government that allowing the flights in could hurt Air Canada financially since government-subsidized UAE airlines offered lower fares to consumers.
There was also little movement on the visa issue.
The UAE also wanted a clause inserted into a defence co-operation agreement, or DCA, between the two nations that would give it some authority over the Canadian troops who were operating in their country. But both DND and Foreign Affairs refused that request.
As tensions increased because of the lack of action on the issues, the Canadian Forces worked to improve military relations and MacKay stepped up to intervene in the dispute.
In March 2010, DND policy advisers told MacKay to inform the UAE's ambassador in Ottawa that the Canadian Forces needed a clear indication that Camp Mirage wouldn't be held "hostage" to issues outside the Department of National Defence's control.
"You should inform the ambassador that DND will be forced to consider other options should UAE assurance not be forthcoming," they advised.
In addition, MacKay took a different approach with Sheikh Abdullah, the country's foreign minister.
"During your meeting, Sheikh Abdullah reiterated the UAE request for movement on the irritants, especially the air rights issue," the April 13, 2010 briefing note for MacKay pointed out. "You will recall that you stated that you will make it a personal mission to see that the issue of the air rights, visas and DCA are addressed as soon as possible."
DND considered the UAE one of its key allies in the region and the Canadian Forces had long-term plans to establish a logistics hub in the country to support future missions in the Middle East. "The UAE would ideally remain a crucial defence partner for the CF even after the drawdown in Afghanistan," DND officials told MacKay.
In addition, bilateral trade between the two nations was around $1.5 billion a year, with most of that Canadian products purchased by the UAE.
According to the documents, DND and the Canadian Forces conducted a full-court press to improve defence relations with the UAE. High level staff talks were held in Canada in November 2009 and the UAE in March 2010. In addition, HMCS Fredericton took part in an exercise with the UAE's Navy in February 2010.
But the military-to-military approach wasn't effective in defusing the dispute since it was the UAE's Foreign Affairs branch that was in charge, according to the documents.
The UAE felt that its goodwill toward Canada in extending the free use of the base, as well as its strong trade relations, had earned it some reciprocal considerations from the Conservative government.
MacKay acknowledged last year after the UAE asked the Canadian Forces to vacate Camp Mirage that the government would need to repair the relationship between the two nations.
MacKay's office referred questions about the UAE to Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird.
Baird's spokesman, Chris Day, stated in an email that "diplomatic relations between Canada and the UAE are getting ever stronger."
He noted Canada and the UAE have worked in close collaboration on issues involving Libya and Baird has met several times with his Emirati counterpart and with the UAE's ambassador to Canada. "We have a mature and mutually respectful bilateral relationship," Day adde
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