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Canada reaches out to Obama Northern neighbor has been quietly opening up channels since Democratic convention; environment, cross-border trade issues Gary Park For Petroleum News
In the best Boy Scout tradition, Canada has been quietly opening up lines of communication into what is now the Obama administration in an effort to head off any unpleasant surprises when Barack Obama is sworn into office in January.
There is plenty of cause for anxiety, with Obama indicating he is willing to reopen the North American Free Trade Agreement to tackle labor and environmental clauses and to review imports of so-called dirty crude from the Alberta oil sands.
Lawrence Cannon, newly appointed foreign affairs minister in the Canadian federal cabinet, was part of a government team at the Democratic National Convention in Denver during the summer, building contacts with Obama insiders.
He believes an Obama presidency sets in motion a possible united North American approach to environmental matters and to cross-border trade, a source of major irritation on both sides of the border.
Cannon told Reuters there are already signs that both Canada and the United States are taking a similar approach to the environment and dealing with climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.
But he suggested there may be greater differences on NAFTA, if Obama presses ahead with his desire to reopen NAFTA — a prospect that has produced warnings from the government of Prime Minister Stephen Harper that Canada would use that opportunity to discuss a full range of matters, including the unfettered access the U.S. has to Canadian oil and gas.
Changing priorities in Canada Even before the U.S. election, changing priorities in the Harper government were evident from the cabinet appointments that followed the Oct. 13 election.
There was a clear elevation of the environment portfolio with the cabinet post going to Jim Prentice, one of the closest advisors to Harper and rated as one of the smartest, hardest-working ministers.
Previously industry minister and before that minister of Indian affairs and northern development, as well as Harper’s point man on the Mackenzie Gas Project, Prentice is now responsible for dealing with the petroleum industry on federal greenhouse gas legislation that is expected early in 2009 and for negotiations with Washington.
He said his duties include continuing responsibility for energy pipelines, without offering any further details.
There will be widespread disappointment if the government fails to speed up progress on the Mackenzie Gas Project, given Harper’s own argument that the project is a vital element in Canada’s claims to Arctic sovereignty.
Mending fences tough job A Calgary resident, Prentice has close ties with the industry and is highly regarded by all who deal with him, but he faces a tough job mending fences with the Alberta government, which is demanding harmonization of the federal and provincial climate change policies, effectively pressuring the federal government to soften its goal of a 20 percent reduction in 2006 greenhouse gas levels by 2020.
Lisa Raitt, a newly elected Member of Parliament, has landed the natural resources portfolio, with her predecessor Gary Lunn being dumped from the main cabinet.
A lawyer and business executive, Raitt has impressive credentials, including the top job at the Toronto Port Authority, a federal agency that manages commerce and transportation — areas where she has a strong international track record.
As well as having a peripheral role in the environment, she has an early challenge in dealing with the industry if Harper sticks with his pledge to limit bitumen exports to countries with lower environmental standards than Canada — a sore point among oil sands producers and the Alberta government.
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