Word: harpers
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...Canada, in fact, might be ready for some straight talk about North America. As its neighbors grapple with domestic politics, Harper could take the lead by opening a national debate about the continent's future and Canada's place in it. He might argue that issues like softwood lumber will never go away until all three countries recognize the common challenges they face from an increasingly competitive world. "Canadians are looking for someone to exercise leadership on the border," says Carleton University trade-policy expert Michael Hart, who argues that the stakes are too high for the PM to wait...
...message control isn't a policy. Last week's three-way Canc?n summit, hosted by Mexican President Vicente Fox, made clear that if Harper really wants to put distance between himself and his predecessors, he still has work to do. His tough rhetoric on the disputes dividing Ottawa and Washington sounds similar to the Liberals' line. Speaking at the closing press conference about the softwood-lumber wrangle, he warned that Canada will use its "legal options" if it can't get the U.S. to release duties impounded from Canadian lumber exporters. And, he added darkly, Canada is "running...
...Harper's vision of North America is also remarkably similar to Martin's. After posing with Bush and Fox near the weathered steps of the Kukulcan temple, built by the Mayans at Chich?n Itz? more than 1,000 years ago, the PM threw his support behind the Security and Prosperity Partnership approved by the three countries a year ago as a step toward managing the integrated North American economy. Said Harper in his best policy-wonk style: "We have got to think continentally...
...policy convergence between Harper's Tories and Martin's Liberals shouldn't surprise anyone. Unless you adhere to the philosophical wing that believes the increasing integration of North America can be reversed, the only option is to figure out how to manage interdependent economies that have begun to strain the continent's infrastructure. The real question is how far to push the pace of change--and here Harper is surprisingly, and uncharacteristically, modest. He noted with approval that officials of all three nations have been instructed to develop a cooperative approach to crisis management (including preparation for a possible bird...
...Government insiders say Harper plans to concentrate on a few cross-border items--such as improving border infrastructure--and leave the bold continental policymaking to his hoped-for second term (as a majority leader). But Harper's soft approach could backfire. Bush's reduced popularity and an increasingly rebellious Congress raise doubts about whether the U.S. President is willing to spend his already diminished political capital on the issues that matter to Canada. Meanwhile in Ottawa, opposition M.P.s will pounce on any sign that Harper's much advertised tone change with Washington has failed to produce results...