Federal Conservatives call for special Commons study of Canada-U.S. relations

The federal Conservatives called Thursday for a special House of Commons committee to study Canada-U.S. relations, a move that appeared to win tacit support from the Liberal foreign affairs minister.

Conservative Leader Erin O’Toole argued that Canada’s economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic is so inextricably linked to the United States that more needs to be done to protect Canadian workers and families from policies of the new Biden administration.

The House of Commons debated the Conservative motion that calls for the new committee to focus on the economic relationship between the two countries, saying that the ongoing pandemic calls for “a serious plan for the economic recovery that recognizes the integration of the North American economy.”

While the proposed committee would have a broad mandate, the Conservatives emphasized the Buy American provisions being advanced by U.S. President Joe Biden, and the case of an Enbridge pipeline known as Line 5, which some U.S. officials want to close.

“We’re standing up for hundreds of thousands of jobs in Canada, families that depend on trade access with the United States, our closest ally, our closest trading partner,”

O’Toole said.

Conservative MP Michael Chong, the party’s critic for foreign affairs, said as much as Canadians might be breathing a sigh of relief at Biden’s replacement of Donald Trump, the new president’s cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline was a serious blow to Canada’s economic recovery.

“Even with a new U.S. president, who is a decent man with good intentions, the facts are right in front of us,” said Chong. “They made a decision that damaged our economic recovery and threatens the very unity of this country.”

If the Conservative motion is passed in the Commons, the new committee would be tasked with producing reports on those issues by certain deadlines, and also have the power to call the deputy prime minister, foreign affairs minister and the Canadian ambassador to the U.S. as witnesses.