[Peace-discuss] New regime change target

[C. G. Estabrook]

   GLOBEANDMAIL.COM
   Washington scolds Ottawa
   U.S. tired of Canadian attacks on 
   environment, trade policies
   By DANIEL LEBLANC AND GLORIA GALLOWAY
   Wednesday, December 14, 2005 Posted at 4:57 AM EST
   From Wednesday's Globe and Mail

OTTAWA and VANCOUVER — The United States launched an
exceptional mid-campaign rebuke yesterday of the Liberal
government's constant criticism of the Bush administration,
bringing the high level of tensions between the world's two
biggest trading partners to the forefront of the Canadian
election.

"It may be smart election-year politics to thump your chest
and constantly criticize your friend and your No. 1 trading
partner. But it is a slippery slope, and all of us should hope
that it doesn't have a long-term impact on the relationship,"
the U.S. ambassador to Ottawa, David Wilkins, said in a tough
speech to the Canadian Club at the Chateau Laurier.

The 20-minute address reverberated on the campaign trail.
Liberal Leader Paul Martin, who had promised to repair
relations with Washington when he became Prime Minister two
years ago, vowed yesterday to continue to defend Canadian
interests "against anybody."

Tory Leader Stephen Harper did not address the matter. It may
become a challenge for him to strike the appropriate balance
between improving Canada-U.S. relations and cozying up to the
Americans.

NDP Leader Jack Layton said Mr. Martin's comments hurt
Canada-U.S. relations. After a Regina rally speech in which
Mr. Layton once again criticized [U.S. President] "George W.
Bush's missile defence," Mr. Layton said Mr. Martin's verbal
attacks on the U.S. have hindered any chance of getting
Washington to do more for the environment.

"I think it's very sad," he said.

Mr. Wilkins, a close supporter of Mr. Bush, was expected to
ease tensions in the bilateral relationship when he was
appointed this year to replace his hawkish predecessor, Paul
Cellucci. But Mr. Wilkins's stinging remarks revealed the high
level of anger in the U.S. government over a recent speech in
which Mr. Martin criticized the U.S. policy on greenhouse-gas
reductions.

Mr. Wilkins, who did not name the Liberal Leader directly,
said his government is growing exasperated with the Canadian
government's constant attacks on U.S. environmental and
commercial policies.

"Canada never has to tear down the United States to build
itself up," Mr. Wilkins said.

He said Canada shows little respect for U.S. concerns. He
acknowledged irritants such as the softwood lumber dispute and
the war in Iraq, but called on Canada to accentuate the positive.

"What if one of your best friends criticized you directly and
indirectly almost relentlessly? What if that friend's agenda
was to highlight your perceived flaws while avoiding
mentioning your successes? What if that friend demanded
respect but offered little in return? Wouldn't that begin to
sow the seeds of doubt in your mind about the strength of your
friendship?" Mr. Wilkins said.

During the Liberal leadership race in 2003, Mr. Martin spoke
about the need for a "more sophisticated" relationship with
the United States to address a perceived strain between the
two countries.

Last week, however, Mr. Martin chastised the United States at
the UN conference on climate change as "reticent" for not
ratifying the Kyoto accord, adding the country lacked a
"global conscience."

At a campaign stop yesterday in Surrey, B.C., Mr. Martin
denied that he had launched a verbal attack on the United
States to bolster his election hopes, but he made his tough
foreign policy a campaign issue.

"If the thesis of Mr. Harper is that the only way to have good
relations with the United States is to concede everything to
the United States, then I do not accept that at all," Mr.
Martin said.

Mr. Martin said it is time for a "new multilateralism" that
takes into account the rise of economic giants like India and
China and addresses issues that have global impact.

"We have to have a global conscience that says -- whether it
is avian flu in Asia, AIDS in Africa, whether it is climate
change globally, or whether it is softwood lumber -- we've got
to understand the fact is this is one world and the leadership
of this world has got that global conscience," he said.

"And I will defend the Canadian position and I will defend our
values and I will defend our interests against anybody."

In his speech, Mr. Wilkins compared the United States to a
"hanging curveball" -- an easy target that politicians try to
hit out of the ballpark during election campaigns.

"I've been on the ballot 13 times in my home state. I get
election-year politics. I understand political expediency. But
the last time I looked, the United States was not on the
ballot for the Jan. 23 election," said the former speaker of
the state legislature in South Carolina.

One of Mr. Wilkins's predecessors, Gordon Giffin, said the
speech was planned weeks ago, before the campaign launch, and
was aimed at all political parties.

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