The government is denying reports that it is set to become a partner in the American space-based missile shield.

In Ottawa, Finance Minister Ralph Goodale says the government remains "absolutely opposed" to the program.

And in Washington, D.C., Prime Minister Paul Martin said a final decision will be made in the fall.

Responding to a report in The Globe and Mail on Thursday, Goodale told reporters the suggestion Martin has already given his approval to the aerospace early warning system are off base.

"As much as I respect The Globe and Mail, sometimes there needs to be just a bit more caucus research," the finance minister said in Ottawa.

"The government's position on ballistic missile defence is quite clear -- we are absolutely opposed to the weaponization of space."

According to The Globe, the Liberals were trying to keep the controversial issue of "weaponizing space" under wraps until after Canadians vote in the election expected in June.

Citing a Martin aide, the paper said Martin decided two weeks ago to sign on to the U.S.-led push to amend the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) treaty agreement to position it as a leader in missile defence.

"We're pretty positively inclined toward it because failure to agree harms Canadian interests in a couple of ways," the unnamed aide told The Globe.

"One, it probably leads to the collapse of NORAD, which doesn't make sense from our perspective, and secondly, it forecloses the capacity to make a decision on BMD."

BMD, or Ballistics Missile Defense, is designed to shoot down incoming missiles.

Scheduled to go into operation this September or October, the program is a linchpin of Bush's national security platform as he heads into the November election.

In Washington on Thursday, Martin told a gathering of think-tank representatives that Canada and the U.S. share common security interests.

"We have long recognized that the defence of North America is also the defence of Canada," he said in a speech to Center for Global Development and the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

In the House of Commons, Defence Minister David Pratt said that doesn't mean the decision is a foregone conclusion. Ongoing talks on the issue aren't likely to conclude before the fall, he said.

"They are fairly complex discussions... They deal with a number of complex issues which we are working hard to resolve."

The fact Canada is engaged in such negotiations should not be misconstrued as cooperation, Pratt said, adding that the White House has known as much since he suggested in January to his U.S. counterpart, Donald Rumsfeld, that the two begin talks.

"I made it clear that on behalf of the government we were interested in pursuing discussions with the United States," he told the House. "That did not mean that we were ready to sign on to ballistic missile defence, not by any stretch of the imagination."

Answering reporters question at the end of the day Thursday, Martin said, "We'll make a decision when we have to make a decision."