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Arab States Look to Strip Canada of UN Agency
(Globe and Mail-Canada) Campbell Clark - Growing discontent among Arab nations over the Harper government's pro-Israel stand is prompting joint talks on retaliation, with some eyeing a campaign to strip Canada of a major UN agency. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been headquartered in Montreal since 1947, but Qatar is now bidding to relocate it to the Middle East in 2016. Some Arab nations are now considering backing the bid as a potential focus for combined efforts to strike back at Canada for its stand on Palestinian issues. The backlash has been fueled by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird's April foray into east Jerusalem to meet an Israeli minister. A spokesman for Mr. Baird, Joseph Lavoie, said, "Canada will not apologize for promoting a principled foreign policy....Those who choose to focus on where the minister stops for coffee instead of the larger, substantive issues at play do a disservice to the cause of peace." ICAO has 534 employees and 37 full-time foreign delegations in the city, bringing $119 million a year to Montreal's economy. Its offices are designated as emergency UN headquarters in the event of attack or disaster.