Jean Chretien wrapped up a visit to Mexico on Sunday, a trip that saw the prime minister push for Iraqi disarmament amid U.S. calls for the ousting of Iraqi President Saddam Hussein.

"I think if you read 1441, it is talking about the disarmament of Saddam Hussein. That is the resolution that we are working on. It is not talking about the regime change. The debate was on disarmament," Chretien said Saturday.

"If you start changing regimes where do you stop? This is the problem."

White House spokesperson Ari Fleischer told reporters Friday U.S. President George Bush would accept nothing less than Iraqi disarmament and an end to the government of Saddam Hussein.

But, Simon Chesterman of the International Peace Academy told CTV's Question Period on Sunday that the U.S. was straining relations with dovish countries like Canada by focusing on a regime change.

"Just at the point when Iraq was about to start dismantling its Al Samoud 2 missiles ... President Bush actually raised the bar and said, 'This is no longer simply about disarmament ... we are not going to be satisfied until there is regime change," Chesterman said.

Chretien has warned that a U.S.-led war against Iraq without a UN mandate could seriously harm the credibility of the world body for years to come.

Peggy Mason, former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament to the UN, told Question Period she thought the shift in policy from disarming to ousting Hussein was hypocritical on the part of the U.S.

"I find it very interesting that the United States is leading the charge calling for Saddam Hussein to comply to the letter ... with resolution 1441 but the U.S. itself cares nothing for this resolution," Mason said.

"Nowhere in this resolution does it say the U.S. can determine on its own that it will change this regime," she added.

Frank Gaffney, founder and president of the Center for Security Policy in Washington, DC, maintained there was little distinction between disarming Hussein and removing him from power.

"This is about disarmament ... it will take disarmament through the old-fashioned means of disposing of this regime and liberating its people," Gaffney said.

Canada has suggested an Iraq plan that is a middle ground between the U.S., British, and Spanish proposal -- which seek authorization for a war on Iraq -- and the French, Russian and German position, which calls for weapons inspections to continue until at least July.

The Canadian proposal sets out a timetable that only allows inspections to continue past a March 31 deadline if Iraq complies by March 28.