Cross your fingers.

Canada used to sell nuclear materials to India. In 1974, India used parts of a Canadian reactor to build and test a nuclear weapon. We stopped supplying them with materials immediately and formally protested the misuse of our products.

In 1998, India successfully tested two more nuclear devices and its neighbour Pakistan tested one of its own. The two nations have fought two previous wars over disputed territories and the world lost its shit at the prospect of mushroom clouds over Delhi and Islamabad.

Since then, India has committed to International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring and maintained separate military and civilian nuclear programs. As a result, Pierre Pettigrew (our nattily-attired Foreign Affairs Minister) has decided its about time to resume sales of nuclear materials to that nation. Lloyd Axworth (who used to have Pettigrew's job) declared that Canada is "abandoning its 40-to-50-year traditional diplomatic approach" to addressing nuclear issues and that "we are witnessing a major sea change in attitudes towards nuclear proliferation." I agree wholeheartedly--so why did this story escape the notice of every major editorial page in the country?

Sure, some stories were run here and there (kudos to the Ottawa Citizen) but there hasn't been any commentary and no in-depth reporting at all. There's been no attempt to publicize the story more widely or provide the public with some context. There might very well be some perfectly good reasons to sell this stuff to India--it'd be nice to hear them, and if the government isn't offering those reasons, it'd be really nice to see the media demanding them.