Canadian PM cancels Latin American trip to deal with weather crisis

The Canadian Prime Minister, Jean Chretien, has pulled out of a trade tour of Latin America so that he can stay in Canada to help deal with the aftermath of the severe winter weather which crippled much of the country.

Mr Chretien was to have been at the head of a five-hundred-member Canadian trade mission visiting Mexico, Brazil, Argentina and Chile.

The Mexican President, Ernesto Zedillo -- speaking at a welcoming ceremony -- said he understood Mr Chretien's decision, and paid tribute to members of the mission for pressing ahead with the visit.

Officials say trade between Mexico and Canada has increased by more than sixty percent since the North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA came into effect four years ago.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service