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Posted: 11/20/03 - 00:16 Post subject: Canada's New Prime-Minister

http://www.canada.com/national/features/transition/story.html?id=B4C66390-A2B8-4C00-B63F-B99B79AC1A16

fock, im going to miss that french-canadian b*****d Cretian... Crying or Very sad

Quote:

Martin has fences to mend with U.S.
Time to stress agreements, not differences

Sheldon Alberts
The Ottawa Citizen

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

WASHINGTON -- Representative Earl Pomeroy knows Canada clashed with the U.S. over the war in Iraq. He knows Jean Chrétien and George W. Bush do not get along.

But the North Dakota congressman is surprised to learn that almost 2,000 Canadians are fighting the war on terrorism in Afghanistan -- right alongside Americans.

"What you just told me about the 2,000 soldiers was news to me," says Mr. Pomeroy, who co-chairs the northern border caucus in Congress and, as such, knows more about Canada than the majority of congressmen and senators in the U.S. capital.

This is part of the foreign policy legacy Mr. Chrétien leaves as he prepares to move out of 24 Sussex Drive on Dec. 12 -- Americans know more about the foreign policy issues that divide Canada and the U.S. than the areas in which the two nations share common ground.

In Congress and among Canada watchers here, there is hope that Paul Martin might restore some of the lustre to a tarnished relationship by practising a more thoughtful form of diplomacy than his predecessor.

"Maybe a rejuvenated relationship between a new prime minister and leaders in Washington will bring a more dynamic quality to our respective views on international relations," says Mr. Pomeroy, a Democrat.

"I do think the profile Canada has is a low profile -- Mr. Martin is obviously a tested and credible leader. I think he comes in strongly positioned to provide energetic new leadership."

The Canadian Embassy has been on a determined campaign in recent months to educate Americans about Canada's contributions to the war on terrorism and ongoing bilateral co-operation on issues like border security.

But the very need for Canadian diplomats to peddle the good news about Canada-U.S. relation, say experts, only underscores the damage done by Mr. Chrétien.

As he asserted Canadian independence by staying out of the war in Iraq, Mr. Chrétien also offended Americans who expected him to demonstrate more tact during the disagreement.

"Paul Martin has a public relations job to do," says Joseph Jockel, director of the Canadian Studies program at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.

"The problem is tone over substance right now. Even the fact that Canada didn't go into the war would have been alright if Chretien didn't handle it in such a grotesque way."

Charles Doran, director of the Center for Canadian Studies at Johns Hopkins University, said Mr. Chrétien's public comments on the war seemed to be more about tweaking the Bush administration's nose than about principled policy.

"Paul Martin has an enormous opportunity to establish a very positive tone for the relationship right at the beginning, and the way to do that is to emphasize the kinds of interactions that have been so positive," says Mr. Doran.

"What was missing with Chrétien was not the sense that Canada was separate or different. What was missing was the sense that we also have things in common. That latter theme did not get through here."

Both Mr. Doran and Mr. Jockel point to one event during the Iraq dispute that has stuck in the mind of many Americans. It was the image of Mr. Chrétien announcing Canada's opposition to the war in the House of Commons, and the ensuing standing ovation he received from Liberal, New Democrat and Bloc Québécois MPs.

"It was viewed as insulting," says Mr. Jockel. "Here was a decision that Canada' s most important ally and partner felt it had to take. For Chrétien to stand up and announce his position in such a manner was simply not the way you conduct Canada-U.S. relations."

In Washington, Mr. Martin is still a largely unknown figure outside of the civil servants who are paid to track Canada from the State Department's North America desk.

The first major decision Mr. Martin will have to make on Canada's relationship with the U.S. will be on whether to participate in the controversial ballistic missile defence system.

The Chrétien government opened talks with the U.S. last spring on the issue, but negotiations will not conclude until Mr. Martin takes office.

In terms of personal relations with Mr. Bush, Mr. Martin is likely to win a friendlier audience in the White House simply because he is not Mr. Chrétien.

"This government is in a mood here to give much more attention to bilateral relations to Canada than was true in the past," says Mr. Doran.

In part, that's because of a subtle shift in White House strategy on international relations.

Mr. Bush is increasingly courting the international community as postwar troubles persists in Iraq and he gets closer to the November 2004 presidential election.

"I'd like to think that the United States in general is more inclined to consider divergent views across the international community than has been exhibited by this administration," says Mr. Pomeroy, who voted in favour of the war in Congress.

"And I think the administration is more inclined to pay attention to international opinion now than before."

© Copyright 2003 The Ottawa Citizen

Canada's New Prime-Minister

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