OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday denied he had suggested deleting mentions of the Paris climate pact from the final communique of a major summit to appease U.S. President Donald Trump.
German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday said Trudeau made his comments in a call with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who will host a G20 summit in July.
Pressed in Parliament as to whether he had made the remarks in question, Trudeau replied: "No, I did not say that".
Canada says it is deeply disappointed by Trump's announcement on June 1 to withdraw the United States from the Paris accord. A source familiar with the matter said Trudeau had last month strongly urged Trump to stay in.
"We will not let climate policy, or indeed international policy, (be) dictated by any country," Trudeau told legislators.
Earlier, Environment Minister Catherine McKenna told reporters that Canada would be "strong on climate action at the G20".
McKenna, in Italy for a meeting of G7 environment ministers, said she had told Scott Pruitt, head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, how dismayed she was at Trump's decision.
(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Bernard Orr and Grant McCool)
