Yesterday, the Canadian embassy adamantly denied a report on Canadian TV that an Obama campaign official had privately reassured a Canadian official that Obama's anti-NAFTA talk on the stump was merely "campaign rhetoric." The Obama campaign also labeled the story "inaccurate."

But CTV, which first aired the story, is more or less standing by their reporting, and also named the Obama aide in question:

The Obama campaign told CTV late Thursday night that no message was passed to the Canadian government that suggests that Obama does not mean what he says about opting out of NAFTA if it is not renegotiated.

However, the Obama camp did not respond to repeated questions from CTV on reports that a conversation on this matter was held between Obama's senior economic adviser -- Austan Goolsbee -- and the Canadian Consulate General in Chicago.

CTV is also reporting that Goolsbee isn't denying this:

On Thursday night, CTV spoke with Goolsbee, but he refused to say whether he had such a conversation with the Canadian government office in Chicago. He also said he has been told to direct any questions to the campaign headquarters.

The Obama campaign has reiterated his opposition to NAFTA and says he's totally committed to reinforcing environmental and labor standards. More soon.

Late Update: It's worth noting that CTV isn't at all clear about what it is that Goolsbee said to the Chicago office; they only say that there was a conversation "on this matter," which is pretty vague. We're checking in with the Chicago office and will keep you posted.

Late Late Update: Obama spokesperson Bill Burton flatly denies this latest report:

This story is not true. There was no one at any level of our campaign, at any point, anywhere, who said or otherwise implied Obama was backing away from his consistent position on trade.