No. 940
Editorial Note
On April 12, the Secretary of State met with the Canadian Foreign Minister and afterwards prepared a memorandum on the conversation which has not been found in Department of State files. An excerpt of that memorandum, however, exists bearing the date of the conversation. It reads as follows:
“Subject: Availability of Land in Canada for USAF Worldwide Communications Network.
“He mentioned the difficulty which the position of the Air Force made for the Canadian Government. This came, he said, from the idea that the Canadian Government was increasingly being tied up with long-term arrangements which gave the United States operating rights in Canada. He thought that the purposes of both Governments could be achieved without creating this unnecessary political difficulty.
“I pointed out the difficulty of getting the necessary funds for these installations if our right to use them might be terminated even before they were completed.
“He recognized this problem. He stressed the desire of the Canadian Government to cooperate with us and thought that we could place more reliance upon this continuing desire, which, in any event, was the basis of the arrangements. He suggested handling the matter by having the Canadian Government make the land available to us on the basis that neither party should question the continuing need for our operation for five years and that thereafter, the Canadian formula of one year’s notice, valuation and repayment, this right to be exercised by either party, should prevail.
“I said that we would re-examine the question to see whether this helped us with our problem. I mentioned this conversation this morning to Ambassador Woodward, who thought this was a step forward and that, if we could add to it the right of consultation through the Joint Board, something might be worked out.” (Canadian Desk files, lot 69 D 302, “Canada—Labrador and Newfoundland, Globecom”)