Rollercoaster My Hectic Years As Jean Chretien's Diplomatic Advisor, 1994-1998

It's March,1995, and Canada and Spain are close to declaring war on each other. James Bartleman, as the Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Advisor, is trying to prevent the war from breaking out: The OK Corral When the Canadian and Spanish armadas squared off on the Grand Banks the weather could not have been better for a fight. Winds were low, seas were moderate, and visibility was fair. In one corner was the Canadian fleet, composed of a motley collection of civilian and military ships operating under a confusing variety of legal authorities. The Fisheries patrol boats, Cape Roger, Cygnus, and Chebucto, were manned by personnel possessing peace-officer status and legally entitled to use force to effect arrests in accordance with Canadian law. Two Coast Guard vessels, the supply ship J. E. Bernier and the icebreaker Sir John Franklin, were in the line of battle ready to take on the might of Spain. Their personnel, who were not peace officers, probably wondered what they were doing in the middle of a possible shootout out in the Atlantic. HMCS Gatineau, which had replaced HMCS Terra Nova as military backup, was steaming towards the zone of possible action from its hull-down position within Canada's two-hundred-mile zone. A second frigate, HMCS Nipigon, was preparing to set sail from Halifax to join the battle. By this time, keeping up the pressure on the Spanish military, the head of Canada's navy served notice to his Spanish counterpart that he intended to deploy submarines in the contested zone. Then on Good Friday, the Chief of Defence, after obtaining Cabinet approval, issued instructions to the commanders of the frigates to use deadly force to defend any Canadian civilian vessel threatened by a Spanish warship as it sought to make an arrest. In the other corner was "the enemy" a Spanish armada composed of eighteen factory trawlers under orders from their owners to carry on fishing. Backing them up were two small Spanish navy patrol boats, Vigia and Centinella, whose normal role was inspecting fishing boats in Spanish coastal waters. Another small naval patrol boat, Atalaya, was on its way from Spain to join the fray. All three had been similarly ordered to use deadly force to protect the Spanish fishing fleet. The Kommander Amalie was also in the area, but not expected to participate in the engagement. To make sure that there was no possible misunderstanding regarding our intentions, the Canadian navy contacted the Spanish navy to say that the Canadian frigates had been authorized to use deadly force against the Vigia, Centinella, and Atalaya. I called my old friend, Ambassador Pardos, to tell him that Canada intended to arrest another Spanish fishing vessel the next morning. Should the Spanish patrol boats intervene, I said, our frigates had orders to open fire on them. I don't believe he thumped his chest this time. Next I telephoned Canada's ambassador in Madrid, David Wright, using an open telephone line that I hoped was being monitored by the Spanish Intelligence Service. I told David that the Canadian government had decided to arrest another fishing vessel on Easter Saturday unless Spain changed its mind and accepted the deal it had just disowned in Brussels. We expected that the Spanish naval vessels on the Grand Banks would intervene to try to stop the arrest. HMCS Gatineau was almost at its action station and would shortly be joined by HMCS Nipigon. Cabinet had met, I told him, and had given authority for the navy to use deadly force. In lay terms, the captains of the Canadian warships were expected to open fire, without further recourse to headquarters for instructions, on the Spanish naval vessels to protect the Canadian fisheries patrol boats. DavidBartleman, James K. is the author of 'Rollercoaster My Hectic Years As Jean Chretien's Diplomatic Advisor, 1994-1998', published 2007 under ISBN 9780771010958 and ISBN 0771010958.