Harper takes shot at Bush administration
NEW YORK–Canada's relationship with the United States is stalled thanks to an "unhealthy" trend in the U.S. toward nationalism and away from deeper economic ties, Prime Minister Stephen Harper told a prestigious foreign policy think-tank here yesterday.
He said he was "deeply concerned" that the political discourse in the U.S. had been infected by "populism, protectionism and nationalism in an unhealthy sense."
His candid comments came in an analysis of the Canada-U.S. relationship, one that Harper said is "the closest ... probably of any two countries in history."
The Prime Minister delivered a speech and took questions for more than an hour from the members of the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-partisan organization and resource for foreign affairs discussion.
In his speech, Harper emphasized the "shared values" of Canada and the U.S., and seemed taken by surprise when an audience member asked why, despite these common traits, Canada was not hated internationally, as is the U.S.
"It's certainly hated in some circles," Harper said.
"I suspect in the circles where the United States as a nation is genuinely hated, I suspect Canada is equally hated as are all countries that stand for these values. The American administration is, to be frank, more widely unpopular than the United States itself, but that's an issue for American domestic politics."
Unlike the U.S., Harper said, "Canada has no history anywhere in the world of conquest or domination. It's probably hard to perceive of Canada being in that type of a position."
In contrast, Canada is seen in the world as a "positive and non-threatening force," he said. "What my government is trying to do is to use those values to promote positive change in concert with our allies."
The shot at the administration of U.S. President George Bush was surprising from a prime minister seen as the most pro-American since Brian Mulroney.
But Liberal foreign affairs critic Ujjal Dosanjh said Harper was "simply acknowledging the truth." In light of the Prime Minister's comments, Dosanjh said he was puzzled that the government has set a foreign policy that is so closely aligned with the U.S. "I'm sorry to use the same old expression; he remains an echo of the U.S. whether it's on Afghanistan, whether it's on Kyoto," Dosanjh said in a telephone interview from Vancouver.
The fight between the Democrat-controlled U.S. Congress and the Bush administration means ties between the two nations could be further frustrated if a Democrat becomes president in 2008, he said.
"Mr. Bush is a lame-duck president ... and we have not been able to push our agenda for some time, whether it's on softwood lumber or any other policies. In a sense, Mr. Harper is whistling in the wind when he's talking to Washington," Dosanjh said.
Harper has been cast as a pro-American hawk on security and foreign policy matters, but he said he was concerned that Bush's Republican administration was "preoccupied" with security and that economic ties with Canada and other countries, particularly in Latin America, were suffering.
Harper said the U.S. focus on "national sovereignty and national borders" have limited the prospect of deeper trade ties. On issues like the U.S. law requiring passports to be presented at the border with Canada – one that MPs say puts the country's economy in jeopardy – Harper said he would continue to put up a fight to ensure "that we don't go backwards."
"Any talk of deepening NAFTA or strengthening trade relationships on this continent is not gonna happen in the immediate future," the Prime Minister said.
He used Colombia as an example, noting that the U.S. Congress recently blocked a free trade agreement proposed by Bush because of concerns over the country's human rights record. Harper travelled this summer to Colombia to meet President Alvaro Uribe and formally launch free trade talks.
"Colombia needs its democratic friends to lean forward and give them a chance at partnership and trade with North America," Harper said. "I am very concerned that some in the United States seem unwilling to do that. What message does that send to those who want to share in freedom and prosperity?"
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