Trudeau chides PM over U.S. relations
Liberal vows to repair rifts, calls Harper’s approach to States ‘hyper-partisan’
OTTAWA— Stephen Harper’s belligerent brand of partisan politics has eroded Canada’s relations with Washington, Liberal Leader Justin Trudeau said Monday as he pledged that a Liberal government would repair the rifts with the U.S. and improve relations with Mexico.
“Real change is needed,” Trudeau said in a speech at a Canada 2020 luncheon. “The Harper decade has been defined by a hectoring, belligerent Canada.”
Trudeau pledged to create a committee of cabinet ministers dedicated to overseeing Canada’s relationship with the U.S.
“Canada’s special relationship with the United States is not automatic. Like any strong relationship, you have to put a lot of work into it,” Trudeau said. He noted that Harper axed the leaders’ summit with Mexico and the U.S. that had been scheduled for February.
Trudeau said Harper has allowed Canada’s relations with the U.S. to be dictated by one issue — Washington’s approval of the Keystone pipeline to carry Alberta oilsands crude to the U.S. gulf coast.
Harper has said U.S. approval of the pipeline should be a “no-brainer,” a provocative comment that has hurt Canada’s standing in the White House, Trudeau said.
“His (Harper’s) hyper-partisan approach also means he is unable to work constructively with people who do not share his ideology.”
The Liberal leader said he would challenge Canadian diplomats to be “creative” in their dealings with the U.S. while giving them more flexibility and resources to do their jobs. “We need to have people on ground,” Trudeau said, though refusing to say whether he would open more diplomatic outposts in the U.S. Canada has an embassy, 12 consulates and three trade offices in the U.S.
Trudeau also said he would lift visa requirements that now apply to Mexican visitors, the fallout of what he called Harper’s “churlish” ap- proach to Mexico. Trudeau said that Ottawa must find ways to tap Mexico’s growing energy industry and swelling middle-class.
Foreign Affairs Minister Rob Nicholson defended Canada’s relations with the U.S, saying in a statement that the two nations are working together to “expand trade, grow our economies, and take decisive action against threats to our national security, including the mission against ISIS.”