TORONTO, March 3: Canada’s Defence Minister John McCallum said here on Sunday that Ottawa was still hopeful that Iraq could be disarmed without a war.

“Canada is making sincere efforts to avoid war in Iraq,” he told a gathering of nearly 700 Pakistani Canadians.

Speaking at the annual dinner of Multicultural Society of Pakistani Canadians (MSPC), the minister said Canada felt that war could still be avoided with Baghdad destroying weapons of mass destruction in compliance with the UN Security Council resolutions.

“Our Prime Minister Jean Chrétien is doing whatever possible for world peace and making genuine efforts to help resolve Iraq issue,” he said.