Terror Defense No Al Qaida Terror

US-Canada relations resilient- relations prove

Derek Burney, a former Canadian ambassador to the US, says relations between the nations are like “Ottawa winter in the deep freeze” and that while Canada is “not unaccustomed to being taken for granted”, problems have spread beyond Keystone in a way that is “beyond the pale”.

Mr Obama has visited Canada less than any full-term US president since Richard Nixon, underscoring a sense in Ottawa that the White House is being complacent despite Canadian co-operation against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isis) and on Ukraine. Critics say this is hurting ties between the neighbours who remain each other’s top trading partners with $759bn of annual trade in goods and services

But while some paint a picture of doom, others such as John Manley, a former Liberal government deputy prime minister, point out that while the nations “have had better head of government relations”, there have been sour periods in the past.

Lawrence Martin, the author of books on both Mr Harper and the history of relations between US and Canadian leaders, says one big difference now is that “Harper is the first truly rightwing prime minister that Canada has had”, putting him right at the other end of the spectrum from Mr Obama.

Instead of hurling insults at each other or back slapping, experts say the problem now is that Mr Obama and Mr Harper rarely talk. One former Canadian official describes them as “cat people” who are more comfortable with policy than building personal ties that would help bilateral relations.

While Mr Obama has not matched the four visits to Canada that both Bush presidents made or the five by Bill Clinton and Ronald Reagan, Mr Harper did not help by postponing the 2015 “Three Amigos” North American Leaders Summit over tensions with Mexico about Canadian visa policy.

“It is hard to think of another country that would refuse a visit by the US president,” says Michael Kergin, a former Canadian ambassador to the US.

Amid tensions over Keystone, observers in Ottawa say Mr Harper’s team has sometimes made it difficult for Bruce Heyman, the former Goldman Sachs executive who became US ambassador last year, to get meetings with cabinet ministers.

While Canadians blame Mr Obama for sacrificing relations with Canada by stalling on Keystone for the sake of his environmental legacy, Mr Kergin says the Harper government also erred by making Keystone “emblematic of the entire relationship”.

Critics contend that Mr Harper hurt his case with remarks during US visits that Keystone was a “no brainer” and “you don’t take no for an answer”. Others accuse him of pushing the narrow topics that Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state famously called Canada’s “condominium issues”.

“Canada is dealing with the USA as neighbours that are equal but it is not,” says Nik Nanos, a pollster in Ottawa. “Canada has become the whining neighbour, not realising that there are other powers at play.”

Mr Obama has not issued a final ruling on the pipeline but he has been increasingly vocal in his scepticism about its merits. While Keystone has gained the most attention, there are other disputes. Mr Harper recently said Canada was “prepared to retaliate” unless Washington responded to a World Trade Organisation ruling that US laws requiring meat products to show the country of origin broke global trade rules.

Relations with the US will also take the stage in Canada as the country prepares for a general election in October. Chrystia Freeland, a Liberal politician, says that under Justin Trudeau the party will campaign partly on the need to mend ties with the US. “The US-Canada relationship today is at a real nadir . . . The US ambassador has been having a hard time getting meetings with Canadian ministers.”

Rob Nicol, Mr Harper’s spokesman, dismisses claims that the relationship is in trouble, saying the US and Canada co-operate on many issues, such as border security, terrorism, Isis and Ukraine. He points to a recent border deal that has been hailed as an important effort to speed up cross-border trade and travel, which have suffered since the US closed the border after the 9/11 attacks in 2001.

The US also downplays the tensions with its neighbour. “We continue to engage productively with the Canadian government at the highest levels,” says a US embassy official in Ottawa, adding that seven US cabinet members have visited Canada since July 2014.

Edward Alden, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations and author of The Closing of the American Border, says that although the Obama-Harper relationship is chilly, the border deal is a “good example that it doesn’t mess up the co-operation on bread and butter issues”.

The deal would allow US customs to operate on the Canadian side of the border, which Mr Alden says was “significant” given issues of sovereignty. “It is a pretty god example of the depth of trust.”

Alt cause- TPP negotiations

Milk may do a body good, but it’s giving trade negotiators fits.

“The Canadians need to step it up and get serious about agriculture and dairy,” said Rep. Paul Ryan, the Wisconsin Republican who leads the House committee that oversees trade. Mr. Ryan’s state produces three times as much cheese as Canada, and in January he brandished a Gouda-style wedge in part to protest Canada’s stance.

Like many countries, Canada instituted measures to protect dairy farmers that remain politically popular because of the large number of small farms. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is walking a delicate balance ahead of an election in October and doesn’t want to lose support in Ontario and Quebec, which benefit from the high prices for milk products the Canadian system all but guarantees.

At the heart of the dispute is what Canada calls its supply-management system, in which prices for dairy products are set based on the average costs of production. Production is controlled through a regulated quota system, and competition is thwarted through tariffs.

Other countries in the TPP talks are looking at the U.S.-Canada milk fight closely, especially New Zealand, where dairy is the biggest export of all. New Zealand wants tariffs lifted in the U.S. Meanwhile, Washington officials this week flew to Tokyo to seek a deal that would include greater dairy access to Japan.

“We have made it very clear that we draw the line if we don’t get access to those countries,” said Jaime Castaneda, senior vice president for the National Milk Producers Federation and the U.S. Dairy Export Council.

President Barack Obama and top officials are seeking to conclude the TPP talks as soon as this month, after narrowly winning special trade powers from Congress in June.

The trade bloc would cover countries comprising two-fifths of the world’s gross domestic product, and the U.S. and Japan—the two biggest economies in the group—have narrowed their differences on agriculture and automobiles to within striking distance and could shake hands in coming days, according to officials on both sides.