OTTAWA, Aug. 3 (UPI) -- India's attempt to join the Nuclear Suppliers Group has prompted Canada to alter its nuclear non-proliferation policy, officials say.
Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister David Emerson said his government decided to support a proposed exemption of a 1968 treaty that would allow India to join the international organization, the Toronto Globe and Mail reported Friday.
"There's no doubt that we do this having reflected long and hard, and recognizing the deep concerns and frustrations that Canada has gone through over the nuclear history with India," Emerson said. "But you can't keep somebody in the penalty box forever."
Canada and India have had tenuous relations since India used nuclear reactor technology donated by Canada to create and test its first atomic bomb in 1974.
By supporting the exemption of the treaty, which limited the group's membership to its five key members, India would be eligible for nuclear imports such as uranium.
The five original countries recognized through the treaty include Russia, Britain, China, France and the United States, the Globe and Mail noted.
