Home Washington Secretariat Public Policy Forum Remarks

Public Policy Forum Remarks

Colin Robertson
Minister (Advocacy) and Head of the Washington Secretariat
Washington Rancher's Club
Calgary, Alberta
March 16, 2005

I'm going to talk about the mood in Washington and the Bush Agenda. Then I'll speak about the West and America. I'll conclude with some observations on making the case for Canada on Capitol Hill and the work of the Secretariat.

This is my fourth tour of duty in the US. I've lived in New York, working at the UN and then our Consulate under Ken Taylor. Impressions? New York was about the pursuit of money. Los Angeles, my last assignment was about the pursuit of fame and celebrity. Washington IS all about the pursuit of power. It's politics 24-7.

I miss LA. Watching Entertainment Tonight and reading People magazine was professional development. Going to the movies was research. Walking the red carpet was representational. And after 3 the phone rarely rang.

Washington is different. I'm in the same time zone as Ottawa so the days are long. My reading is now Roll Call, the National Journal and CQ Daily. The televisions in my office are tuned to C-SPAN and FOX' News.

It is said that politics is entertainment for ugly people, although watching Michael Jackson in Santa Barbara and I'm not so sure. Regardless politics, like the entertainment business is a contact sport and I spend my days on Capitol Hill.

I've now been in Washington six months. The big event was the election. I spent a week in Lancaster country Pennsylvania with Congressman Joe Pitts and watched the. We know it from Witness and Harrison Ford. After targeted, focused campaigning Rove had his politicking down to the black buggies who'd pick the Amish up on Tuesday morning and take them to vote.

Politics continues to be polarizing. My neighbours have just removed their Kerry-Edwards bumper sticker and replaced it with ClintonWarner in '08.

I stood beside another contender, John McCain during the inaugural parade. McCain had marched in the 1957 Second Eisenhower inaugural as a young cadet at Annapolis. He loves parades and he did the colour commentary. No surprise: there was a preponderance of Texas majorettes and marching bands.

From our vantage point on the Canadian Embassy I looked down Pennsylvania Avenue and noted rooftop spectators all down the Avenue. The only difference was that they wore black track suits and balaclavas and were holding significant firepower. (Not sure they were registered).

Columnist George Will likened the presidential motorcade to "a military occupation proceeding through a hostile city, like the leader of a banana republic worried about a restive tank regiment.

And Will is a Republican. But his language reflects the reality of Washington and a city under siege.

Because America is at war. As my septagenarian friend and political philosopher James Q. Wilson observes, 9-11 was the most profound event in America since Pearl Harbour. The homeland has become vulnerable. The political, economic and cultural implications are significant.

Security trumps everything.

The fear factor is always present in the imperial capital. As John Manley remarked during his press conference on Monday on the report of the chairs of the Council on Foreign Relations study of North America, it begins even before you leave Toronto or Montreal airports. You go through a secondary security screening that obliges you to take off your shoes, belt and jacket. And in the last half hour before you land at Reagan you can't leave your seat.

Every morning along with the weather you get the Department of Homeland Security threat assessment. When I arrived in September after a week in the armed camp that was New York during the Republican National Convention, it was Code Orange - High. It's been lowered since the election to Code Yellow - Elevated.

At the Embassy it meant we recently permanently shut the side door for the joggers; we long ago shut the doors that open onto Pennsylvania Avenue and our gallery. Sadly, its more than fear of AIQaeda. All our mail is routinely screened - the legacy of anthrax, now reckoned, like the Oklahoma bombing to be home-grown. When we went to orientation for new parents we were advised that since the snipers, ten were killed, access to the woods around the sports fields was monitored by security

How many of you saw Michael Moore's 'Bowling for Columbine'? It was less about the American gun culture than the fear culture. It is completely understandable if you watch local news: ‘if it bleeds it leads’. Since 9-11 and the onset of the wars, first in Afghanistan and now in Iraq, terror and fear of the outsider has become a theme in films and television series like Alias, 24, ER, and CSI.

One manifestation is a new patriotism. There may be less flags than after 9-11 but the pride in being American is reflected in popular song and visible at the big sporting events where the colour guard is always given a rousing cheer. And the military is taking full advantage for recruitment.

Uniform services are immensely popular; the legacy of Vietnam is erased and most nightly news shows have stories on the fallen. The most popular bumper sticker is the yellow ribbon saying 'Support our Troops'. You get them at the pharmacies and in the local hardware stores.

Fear of getting fired, and not just by Donald Trump, remains on the minds of Americans. During the campaign Gephardt, Edwards and later Kerry used it with effect and now Lou Dobbs does a daily riff on economic 'Benedict Arnolds' and their 'export' of American jobs.

It's against this backdrop that President Bush has defined his Agenda of Liberty and Freedom. He is determined not just to preserve, protect the Constitution but, when necessary, to pre-empt in defence of America.

It permeates all his speeches. Still the best and most comprehensive enunciation of the Bush foreign policy is the September 2002 National Security Policy of the United States. It explicitly declares that 'Defending our Nation against its enemies is the first and fundamental commitment of the Federal Government.'

It's ideological. It's moral. It's focused. It links human rights, government and development with security. It commits to the multilateral system, as long as it works for America.

Let me read you a section because it goes to the heart of Bush foreign policy:

"The great struggles of the twentieth century between liberty and totalitarianism ended with a decisive victory for the forces of freedom and a single sustainable model for national success: freedom, democracy and free enterprise. In the 21st century only nations that share a commitment to protecting basic human rights and guaranteeing political and economic freedom will be able to unleash the potential of their people and assure their future prosperity... These values of freedom are right and true for every person, in every society - and the duty of protecting these values against their enemies is the common calling of freedom loving people across the globe and across the ages."

It concludes, "We seek to create a balance of power that favours human freedom: conditions in which all nations and all societies can choose for themselves the rewards and challenges of political and economic liberty. In a world that is safe, people will be able to make their own lives better. We will defend the peace by fighting terrorists and tyrants. We will preserve the peace by building good relations among the great powers. We will extend the peace by encouraging free and open societies on every continent:"

Liberty and freedom is the refrain for every Bush statement on foreign policy.

It also lies at the heart of the Bush domestic agenda. As he said following his election, 'I've earned political capital and now I'm going to spend it.' And the scope of change is revolutionary. Or reactionary depending on whether you're Rush Limbaugh or AI Franken.

Having done tax reform and extended medicare in Term One, Bush is now taking on the traditional third rail of American politics: Social Security.

The creation of private or personal accounts, again the language depends on your politics, would be the biggest change to social security since its creation 70 years ago by Franklin Roosevelt.

Bush has returned to the campaign trail. He was in Shreveport his past weekend. Here's a flavour of his arguments:

"First of all, you own it. It's yours. The government can't take it away from you." Major applause.

"Secondly, you can pass this account on to whomever you choose. It's yours." More applause "Thirdly, I like the idea of families being able to pass wealth from one generation to the next." Even more applause.

"Finally, it makes sense to encourage savings in America. The more savings we have, the more capital there is for growth in the economy. One of the things we're going to have to be careful about is not saving enough money. The capitalist system works by encouraging savings, so there is capital to invest, so that small businesses can flourish, so that the entrepreneurial spirit stays strong." And to stirring cheers he asks God to bless America.

It's language used with purpose. Bush combines God, Family, Liberty and the natural human desire to both succeed and provide for your family in his appeal.

Will he succeed?

Its revolutionary. There is a fundamental philosophical difference between liberals and conservatives in the US over redistribution of wealth. The liberal viewpoint holds that passing wealth from one generation to another without a significant redistribution mechanism creates a society where the rich get richer and the poor and middle class fall further behind.

The jury is still out and surveys show there is a reason why it's a third rail.

Ken Duberstein, Reagan's former Chief of Staff said to me recently, "he doesn't have to get it all. Nor does it have to be in the first eighteen months. The point is he has conditioned the public for change and even if he only gets half of what he's asked for he's changed the fundamentals."

And its not just social security. It's tort reform. It's transportation. It's migration. It's energy.

It's ambitious. It's bold. It’s transformational. It's Bush.

Let me turn to the West and America. I openly acknowledge my debt to Roger Gibbons and the work of the Canada West Foundation.

We all know trade with the US has increased significantly since the FT AI It was the catalyst for increasingly integrated production, finding our niches, and using our geographic propinquity to advantage. With success has come confidence in our capacity to compete.

Trade as a percentage of our GDP has become much more important. As in the rest of Canada, trade beyond our borders now surpasses interprovincial trade by a margin of about a third.

These developments have implications:

First; transportation links north and south are as important as those east and west as Fred Green described this morning. Second, North American production has become more integrated.

Third, while exports from much of the rest of the country are manufactured goods (automobile parts being number one) for the West half of what we export is in natural resources or agricultural commodities: oil and gas for Alberta, lumber for British Columbia, while grains and potash and uranium and now diamonds from Saskatchewan, and grains and pork from Manitoba. And until BSE, live cattle.

The FTA and NAFT A process did good work in reducing tariffs and creating stability in the trade in manufactured goods. Trade remedy is not much of an issue here.

But for the resource and agricultural commodity industries they are.

Trade policy for this decade will likely have a couple of features.

First, dealing with the residuals of NAFTA. In a post 9-11 that includes people access for travellers, tourists and workers.

And of course we have to resolve the resource industry issues. Lumber and beef, pork and grains. These items dominate the headlines and obscure the fact that most trade is working well. There is no doubt it is having a corrosive effect on how the average person views Canada-US relations.

Tomorrow Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff is in Ottawa and he and DPM Ann McClelland will talk about the next phase in the 'Smart Border' process begun in November, 2001 by Tom Ridge and John Manley. We need to go to the next level.

The big item is infrastructure around transportation. Detroit/Windsor is the biggest border crossing for goods, mostlyautoparts, in the world. But the tunnel and bridge are inadequate to the growing levels of trade.

For the West it means upgrades to our rail and highway capacity. Every 4 ~ second a truck crosses the border and we need to match road capacity to demand.

Trade policy also means closer, complimentary regulatory reform around rules of origin, purchasing and standards, especially those related to health and safety and the environment.

In addition, the two not so sleepy giants: energy and water.

Energy means exploration and development, distribution by pipeline or power grid and, of course, investment.

Water means transborder management of the big: think Columbia River that comes up for renewal in the next decade. Then those crossing borders like the Devil's Lake Diversion. It will also mean better useage through conservation and recycling.

And then, as George Shultz would remind me, water as a commodity, particularly for the increasingly dry south west.

Now some words about the Washington Advocacy Secretariat and making the case for Canada on Capitol Hill and beyond.

The Secretariat is a child of of 9-11.

The first child was the Smart Border Accord. Everything comes down to the border and making secure our access to our biggest market.

The second child of 9-11 is our 'enhanced representation initiative' the decision to expand our offices in the US from 13 to 42. We're at 23 today and the new offices reflect the shift in population and power in the US. We've recognized that we need to look and listen to the red states.

This time last year I opened new offices in Phoenix and Tucson. Arizona, with Nevada, are the fastest growing states in America.

Next presidential cycle Arizona, home to Barry Goldwater, arguably the ideological godfather of the Republican party that George W leads, will have more electoral votes than Massachussets.

Arizona matters. Not only is it the winter home to Canadian snowbirds many of them from the Prairies, but we're the biggest foreign investor in the state and our trade reflects our new economy in optics, biotechnology and nanotechnology. Phoenix is sister city to Calgary with direct daily flights.

The third child of 9-11 was a set of triplets. First the Canada-US / Cabinet Committee chaired by the PM (and now including Ambassador McKenna) and its Secretariat in the Privy Council Office

Second, the creation of a new parliamentary secretary directly responsible to the Prime Minister for Canada-US relations (Marlene Jennings is in Richmond today).

The Washington Advocacy Secretariat began operation just after Labour Day. Announced by PM Martin when he was in Washington last April it was response to both provinces and parliamentarians desire for activity and support in Washington. It also reflects the natural evolution in the Gotlieb-inspired congressional outreach strategy, instituted after we got a lesson in American government with the failure of the East Coast Fisheries Agreement. Lest we forget, Congress is a co-equal branch of government and in their respective chambers Speaker Hastert and Majority Leader Frist are king.

It reflects the intermesticity of the relationship and brings Washington into alignment with practise we've adopted elsewhere abroad involving the provinces.

State province and city relations reflect the hidden wiring of the Canada-US relationship. Two federal governments responsible for the conduct of foreign policy and setting the framework.

But increasingly 64 states interacting on a whole range of issues within their areas of competence, quietly and with effect, especially here in the West through drivers at the subnational political level like the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, the Western Governors Association, the Midwest Association of State Legislators.

It matters. With term limits and end of seniority legislators in America are passing through the system much more quickly. From city or county and state legislature to Congress. Over 50 of the 80 new members in the 10gth Congress served in local levels of government. There are 10 former governors in the Senate. And don't forget four of the last six presidents lived in governor's mansions before moving to the White House.

The PM invited the premiers to join the Secretariat. Alberta has taken up the invitation and Murray Smith, former Energy Minister, is now my colleague. Next Tuesday, Premier Klein,officially opens the Alberta office.

Advocacy is an action verb.

Like trade, you don't do advocacy sitting on your arse. We play by American rules. Politely Canadian but in your face American.

Our message is straightforward: Trade Works. For Canada. For the US.

My main message is about the border. And reminding them that the southern model of walls, wires and posses is unnecessary and won't work along the northern frontier.

It's all about keeping and increasing our access in our best market.

We've always been a trading nation and since the FT A we've become a nation of traders. It pays the bills for healthcare, education and now the investments in diplomacy, defence, and development described by John McKay this morning.

And together its about North American competitiveness.

Some observations:

First, there is almost .entirely benign and positive reception. Most have no clue about the depth and magnitude of trade with Canada. A cautionary note: a steady diet of Fox News and Bill O'Reilly is seeding doubt about our reliability. My box score of what offices watch is FOX 43, CNN 5 and CNBC 1. FOX is becoming the primer for the political class.

Second, all politics is local. And so I learn about restaurant grease being held up because it has beef fat. I learn about 'predator cormants' in the St. Lawrence. And I hear about increasingly grumpy customs officers. And lots of mail about social security but also about ANWR.

Third, by the time an issue reaches Washington and is framed in Canada-US terms we're pushing a rope uphill.

Problems start in the regions. Increasing our offices from 13 to 42 is the right approach. I think we should have as ultimate goal a . presence in every state by the next electoral cycle. With a million dollars a minute in trade we're protecting our investment.

Fourth, we lack votes and money but we can talk jobs. For 38 American states their biggest trading partner is Canada.

But we need to do more. We need to know by congressional district what are our investments in the district, what are we selling to the district, what are the American firms there exporting to Canada and who are our friends and the ‘star spangled’ Canadians living there.

To do it right will require a Team Canada Inc approach involving provinces, business and government. I'd like to see a consortium of Canadian and American universities take on the project. It would legitimize the research and create new centers of policy development.

Robert Thomson once remarked that 'Americans were our best friends, like it or not.' To which Derek Burney has added the caveat, 'Canadians are Americans best friends, know it or not.'

We talk about a values divide - 'fire and ice'. Maybe, but as Frank Graves told me last month, this is exagerrated. There is more that unites than divides. And there are many more Americans who think like Canadians than there are Canadians.

This engagement in Washington through advocacy is useful. Overtime it will have effect.

But I am convinced that we also need to do more at home to remind ourselves of the importance of our principal customer and main market. And to be mindful of their abiding preoccupation with security. Spit at Uncle Sam and there is a cost. You can say no. It's how you say no.

W.L. ‘Bill’ Morton the Canadian historian, always told me a good essay ends with a challenge and a question, especially when you don’t know the ending. He said it made you look thoughtful.

This is an audience of the converted on the importance of trade. So here's my challenge to you: tell your American friends, clients and partners that security has an economic dimension as well. But also tell your friends and neighbours at home that the money that pays for those things that define us as Canadian comes from our ability to sell to the US. We may need each other but ultimately they're the main customer and their show is the one on center stage.

Canadians can play on that stage if we chose. We are not Americans but we are North Americans and the ties of family and friendship and business go way beyond the temporary occupants of 24 Sussex or 1600 Pennsylvania.

We have chosen to be joiners: the UN, Francophonie, Commowealth, APEC, OAS. Climate and migration has given us a temperament that favours compromise and consensus and celebrates pluralism. These are useful traits today.

The rest of the world looks to us to interpret our American cousins. Americans, increasingly baffled by where the rest of the world is going and saying about them, looks for interpretation.

The interpretor role is one for which we have both the sensitivity and sensibility. And I reckon we can leverage it to effect.

But, and this is my question: Are we up to it?