WASHINGTON, Dec 23 (AFP) - Canada's new prime minister, Paul Martin, said in remarks published Tuesday that he wants to keep his country financially stable and help poor nations deal with the effects of globalization.
"We are certainly the only G8 country that does not have a deficit and we intend to stay that way," said Martin, referring to the Group of Eight most industrialised nations.
In an interview with The Washington Post, Martin parried criticism that he had acted conservatively by freezing government spending to avoid a deficit.
"I think that it is sound government," said Martin, who was sworn in earlier this month to replace the 10-year administration of Jean Chretien.
"Our priorities are the health care system, better education and the role we want to play in the world in dealing with the inequities of globalization," he added.
Martin vowed to make patented drugs available to HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis sufferers in developing nations.
"In terms of dealing with the problems of poverty, dealing with the problems of the migration of refugees, the migration of disease, it is getting beyond the rhetoric of the global village and dealing with it is a reality," he said.
"It is recognizing that there is a common humanity. That it is simply morally unacceptable that because of a failure to distribute medicines which can cure or prevent, the world fails to do that. Canada has taken the lead on this."
Martin said he would deal immediately with the controversial case of Syrian-born Canadian Maher Arar who was deported from the United States to Syria where he was allegedly tortured and questioned on his suspected links to terrorism.
"It is expected that as a Canadian citizen, he would be deported back to Canada," Martin said. "That did not occur. That is not acceptable. The Canadian passport must be respected, period."
On the ongoing threat of terrorism, Martin said he would strengthen the US-Canadian border, deflecting US criticism that Canadians are only interested in trade. "The truth is we are as interested in national security," he said.
On Chretien's refusal to join the US-led coalition that deposed Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, Martin said he supported the decision but said "a problem in the way it was communicated" had injured Canada's foreign relations.
"While we did not agree with the decision, our friendships with the United States and Great Britain were deep and unshakable," said the new premier.
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