Paul Martin says he wants to make sure Canada plays an important role in the world.

Shortly after taking office, Martin, using the analogy of a boxer said Canada has been punching below its weight in the international ring and that he was determined to change that.

Martin has an excellent opportunity to show that his words are not as hollow as his predecessor, when the Dalai Lama, the exiled Tibetan leader visits Canada in April.

His former boss, Jean Chretien, who has been spending his time in China drumming up business with some shady characters, was at his hypocritical best when the Dalai Lama visited Canada 10 years ago. Then, Chretien as prime minister was too afraid of angering his friends in Beijing and refused to meet the Dalai Lama. Three years earlier, as opposition leader, Chretien had no qualms being front and centre at a photo op with the Dalai Lama.

The Canada Tibet Committee says 126 members of Parliament will be pressing Martin to meet with the Dalai Lama when the exiled Tibetan leader visits Ottawa in April.Thubten Samdup, spokesman for the committee, said the Dalai Lama has met the heads of state of virtually every western nation, but Canadian leaders have always refused a meeting.

The Dalai Lama is coming to Ottawa to thank the 126 MPs from all parties, including Justice Minister Irwin Cotler, and six other cabinet ministers, he says have signed a letter supporting the Canada Tibet Committee's campaign for the prime minister to serve as an honest broker between China and the Dalai Lama.

That move and suggestions that Martin should meet with the Dalai Lama has already triggered the predictable and angry response from Beijing. Comparing the Tibet situation with Quebec separatism, a Chinese official denounced plans for the visit, and warned that "Tibetan affairs are the internal affairs of China that brook no foreign interference." "If somebody from Quebec went to China or (the) United States, asking the U.S. Government to support Quebec independence from Canada, what would (be) your response"

"The Dalai Lama is not simply a religious figure, but was once the biggest serf owner in old Tibet, and now a politician in exile engaged in activities aimed at splitting China and undermining national unity," a statement to the media read. China of course makes no mention of its brutal occupation of Tibet since 1949 when its forces rolled into the Dalai Lama's homeland under the pretext of liberating a backward people.

Beijing has no qualms about the religious persecution of Buddhist monks and nuns, the destruction of a culture and a steadfast refusal to recognize the Dalai Lama or the 80,000 Tibetans who fled their country. Martin should ignore the angry bleats from China, snub their threats and meet with one of the world's great spiritual leaders. The meeting will provide a platform for this great nation of ours to broker a deal between the Chinese and Tibet's government-in-exile.

The ageing Dalai Lama is the key reason for Tibet's peaceful non-violent resistance to China's occupation.

There are fears that once he is gone, followers may abandon his movement and resort to terrorism to reclaim their homeland.

The Dalai Lama's visit to Canada provides an opportune moment for Martin to make his mark as an international statesman. If Martin meets the Dalai Lama, the event will be one of the greatest legacies the new prime minister can leave Canada. If he does not, Canada will join others in the world community as having failed Tibet.