PM says trade message is being heard
LOS ANGELES — The pro-trade message Canada is touting in the United States will resonate with everyday Americans and their political class, even if the words get obscured by the breaking news of the day, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says.
Standing at the Griffith Observatory in the Los Angeles hills — a site made famous as a setting in multiple movies — Trudeau said his pitch to save the North American Free Trade Agreement from falling apart was well received.
Local coverage of the prime minister’s visit to California has focused on U.S. President Donald Trump’s talk and actions on immigration, a particularly acute issue in this “blue” state on the border with Mexico and home to the largest population of Canadians outside of Cana- da, some 150,000 people. Trudeau’s talk Friday night at the Ronald Reagan library was overshadowed with international headlines about a crash between an SUV and a motorcycle officer in the prime minister’s motorcade.
The California Highway Patrol officer broke his clavicle in the accident.
Trudeau said Canadians needed to continually remind Americans about the bilateral relationship between the two countries, which can often be taken for granted.
“The conversations I’ve had across this country over these past few days have been extremely positive,” the prime minister said on Saturday.
“Maybe it’s not as breaking news as something else might be, but that emphasis that we are working together for the betterment of our citizens is a message that does continue and does resonate.”
California is also a forerunner for Canada in terms of legalizing marijuana, which came into effect at the start of the year.
San Francisco has decided to provide amnesty for marijuana convictions going back decades in a move that other jurisdictions are following.
Trudeau indicated his government was in no rush to deal with amnesty ahead of when the new legal cannabis regime takes effect.
“Until we actually change the laws, the existing laws remain in place,” Trudeau said.
“After we change the law, we will then look at steps forward on how we move on pardons and retroactive measures.”