Canadian Crossing

Canada weakens food safety as part of Harper budget cuts

Especially with NAFTA, when a NAFTA member country cuts back on food safety, good results never come as a result.

In the Harper budget cuts, food safety takes a much sharper cut than other federal agencies. The memory of the listeriosis outbreak in 2008 is still fresh, even if the deli meat wasn't. 22 deaths and 35 serious illnesses resulted from the outbreak.

In the last Canadian federal election, the Conservatives promised $100 million more in spending over a 5-year period for food safety. Wonder how that will turn out.

How food safety became a political issue on both sides of the border is startling. Conservatives eat food just like liberals and others.

At least Canada has a federal agency — Canadian Food Inspection Agency — devoted to food safety. The U.S. can't even spare that as a concept, real or weak.

For more on this story, check out our perspective from our sister blog, BalanceofFood.com.

Ontario brothels made legal, but don't pack your bags right away

"Did you hear that there will be brothels in Ontario?"

While the United States Supreme Court is trying to settle what Canada has already figured out (and better) a long time ago, the Ontario Court of Appeal ruled on something the United States Supreme Court won't get around to for well over 100 years.

Yes, Ontario's highest court ruled unanimously that prostitutes had the right to protect themselves by hiring bodyguards and organizing in brothels. Prostitution is legal in Canada, solicitation remains illegal, the latter being upheld by the Ontario court.

Essentially, the ruling allowed prostitutes to do what they do in private with better protection while keeping the community safe from visible signs of what was going on (i.e., solicitation).

The brothels won't kick in right away, but bodyguards can be a part of what they do 30 days after the ruling. The appeals process will kick in, likely going to the Canadian Supreme Court.

The words "Ontario" and "brothels" spark up images of "ranches" outside Las Vegas, but assuming the decision survives on appeal, and the Canadian Supreme Court will definitely hear this case, the landscape won't change significantly.

Again, prostitution has been legal in Canada. Outside of "massage places," you don't see any sign that anything such as this is going on. Even the "massage places" don't advertise those services.

Will this increase travel and tourism to Canada's largest province? As the Detroit Free Press put it, "Perhaps Detroit will need that second bridge to Windsor."

The beauty of prostitution being legal in Canada is that you don't have the hype, the egregious flaunting that you have in Nevada outside Vegas. Subtle is the key word. Yes, it exists, but it's not a big deal. If/when brothels come along, you'll still see it mostly hidden.

Why? Well that is just the Canadian way. Rarely is anything in your face in Canada.

For those who can't get to Ontario easily, if the Canadian Supreme Court rules that this ruling can apply nationwide, you won't have to travel as far. But again, if you really want to travel to Canada for mostly that purpose, two things to keep in mind. You should have a better excuse when customs asks why you are coming to Canada. And remember that solicitation for prostitution is illegal in Canada, and that won't change anytime soon.

Mitt Romney does know a lot about Canada, which should be necessary when running for president

We made a big deal in 2008 when John McCain went to Ottawa in the middle of the 2008 campaign. McCain spoke to the Economic Club of Canada in Ottawa on June 20. U.S. presidential candidates don't usually know much about Canada, and the country rarely comes up in the debates.

In one of the early debates for the Democratic Party in 2007, Barack Obama slipped and said "president" instead of "prime minister." Then again, Obama's first trip as president was to Canada, restoring a proud tradition, and has worked well with Canada and the Harper government.

If Mitt Romney is the GOP nominee in 2012, and all signs are pointing that way, Romney does have extensive knowledge of Canada.

Romney spent part of his summers near Grand Bend, Ontario. Romney's father, George, was president of American Motors Corporation before becoming Michigan's governor. The Globe and Mail reported that "Mitt remarked during one of his father's political campaigns that he first spent July 4 in the United States at age 15."

Most of Bain Capital's relationships with Canadian companies occurred after Romney left the company, but the interest Romney gets (at a 15% taxable rate) is in part from those agreements.

Then there is the dog story.

In 1983, Romney and his family drove from Boston to that cottage in Grand Bend, Ontario. Romney loaded the station wagon and put the family's Irish setter, Seamus, in an "air-tight container" (Romney's words) on top of the family station wagon. Well, despite Romney's self-assuredness that the dog would be fine, Seamus started having accidents as the no longer air-tight container began to leak. Even after the trauma of what happened, Romney hosed everything down and put the dog back in there for the rest of the trip.

We have seen reports that Seamus ran away once the family was in Canada.

On top of that, Newt Gingrich attacked Romney for speaking French. Given that Romney spent time in France as a Mormon missionary and has taken his family on vacation there, one would assume that Romney's French is better than George W. Bush's Spanish, and Romney would do just fine in Quebec and New Brunswick.

Newt Gingrich mentioned the elephant in the room (pun heavily intended) when he praised Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper as "conservative and pro-American" after Gingrich's win in the South Carolina primary. Gingrich brought up pipelines, specifically the Keystone XL pipeline and the proposed pipeline that would carry oil from Alberta to the Pacific Ocean.

"Now, an American president who can create a Chinese-Canadian partnership is truly a danger to this country," said Gingrich, never one to be subtle in his remarks.

Speaker Gingrich, once 2 heartbeats away from being president, should know that referring to Canada's PM as "pro-American" doesn't go over well in Canada, even if it's true.

Diplomacy is crucial in being president but not always required in being House Speaker.

Other than representing a state that barely borders a Great Lake, Rick Santorum hasn't weighed in much on Canada, though you have to imgaine that Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Santorum agree on way too many issues.

Unlike John McCain's 2008 running mate — okay, Sarah Palin — the reason Mitt Romney may not be able to name the number of times he has been to Canada is that there are so many of them. And the fact that Romney's father, George, was born in Mexico gives him complete NAFTA cred.

This isn't to say that Romney would make a good or bad president. However, in a Obama-Romney battle, both have a keen awareness of Canada.

GOP presidential debate spotlights Vancouver's rising real estate market

"Why is it that Vancouver is the fastest growing real estate market in the world today? They allow immigrants in legally and it lifts all boats. We need to focus as much on legal immigration."

Having Canada come up in a presidential candidates debate is extremely rare, despite the tight relationship between the two countries. Having Canada mentioned in a Republican debate is even more rare.

Of course, political followers might wonder how "Republican" former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman is, but still, mentioning Canada, and specifically Vancouver's housing market, is still rather impressive.

Vancouver's housing market is through the roof, thanks to the influence of China within British Columbia's largest city. As much as I would love to live in Vancouver (or Canada in general), I do secretly worry how I would be able to afford to live there. Short of winning the lottery, I won't be buying in Vancouver.

Huntsman is more aware of China's influence, having served almost 2 years as U.S. Ambassador to China. The former governor also help China and Taiwan into the WTO while serving as Deputy U.S. Trade Representative under George W. Bush and also served as United States Ambassador to Singapore under President George H.W. Bush.

Still, if potential Republican voters were paying attention to Huntsman (and that is debatable), it was a teachable moment (a term used by Huntsman's former boss, President Barack Obama).

Canada's housing market has been helped in great part because bank regulations weren't torn apart, as they were in the United States in the late 1990s. Toronto's housing market doesn't compare to Vancouver's, but no major U.S. city even comes close to Toronto's market today.

The deterioration of the U.S.-Canada relationship ties back to September 11, 2001

The United States and Canada have traditionally had as good a relationship between neighboring countries as any in the modern history of the planet Earth. While many columns will reflect back on the events of September 11, 2001 for its impact on the United States and international terrorism, that fateful date sparked huge changes in that previously long-standing friendship.

The relationship got an initial boost thanks to the generosity of Canadians. When flights were forced to land, many passengers found themselves unexpectedly in Canada, especially in Halifax and the Maritimes. Operation Yellow Ribbon helped out Americans, some of them for days, get through the crisis in a foreign country.

While those involved appreciated the warm generosity of Canadians, such was not the case within the powers of government (e.g., Bush's long-time snubbing of Canada). Though the majority of the attackers came from Saudi Arabia as well as the Middle East, Canada soon became a target for American security concerns. Falsehoods that people were coming across the border spread much faster than the actual truth.

What became slower than the truth was the speed of goods traveling from Canada into the United States. In a society with greed is king, perceived security triumphed over commerce.

Previous coverage:

Wikileaks proves U.S. distrust of Canada runs even deeper than previously thought

U.S.-Canada border issues escalate badly

The false suspicions of a terrorist threat coming from north of the border likely led to the Maher Arar kidnapping and torture. For those who don't remember (most Americans might not even know about this case), Maher Arar is a Canadian citizen flying back from Tunis back to Canada. When his plane landed briefly in New York City, Arar was detained and sent off to Syria to be tortured.

Let's not forget the case of then 15-year-old Omar Khadr, a Canadian citizen, who was captured after a battle in Ayub Kheyl, Afghanistan. Despite Khadr's age and Canadian citizenship, Khadr was sent to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Khadr waited 8 years at Guantanamo Bay for a trial; his major charge was throwing a grenade, even without any physical proof. Khadr was finally sentenced last fall to serve another 8 years.

Then there was the war in Iraq. George W. Bush and British PM Tony Blair put tremendous pressure on Canadian PM Jean Chrétien to send Canadian troops to Iraq. Chrétien would have done so had the forces waited for the UN, but Bush and the coalition went it alone.

Canada did send troops to Afghanistan and suffered substantial casualties and injuries (the country finally pulled out combat troops earlier this year), but Canada didn't get much credit for its effort.

Trade wasn't the only trouble at the border; tourism suffered greatly between the two countries thanks to ongoing increased security measures. Perhaps the days of naive travel, as has been traditional between the two countries, would have eventually disappeared, and passports is a sensible way to go. But tensions between the countries have led to much higher scrutiny for those wishing to visit the other country.

Canada has also felt a loss of sovereignty, ranging from giving information on Canadians to U.S. agencies to forcing high-fructose corn syrup on Canada. And it hasn't helped that the current Canadian PM, Stephen Harper, is so pro-American that he prefers watching American TV news to homegrown TV news.

The events of September 11, 2001 changed dramatically the way the United States looks at foreign policy. And Canada has been an unintentional victim of that American response. Acting as if we have no friends won't serve you too well as a nation; the United States needs all the friends it can get, and Canada is a great place to start.

President Barack Obama took a small symbolic gesture toward Canada in the week leading up to the anniversary, writing a letter to Prime Minister Stephen Harper thanking Canada for its help after the September 11 attack.

"In one of the darkest moments of our history, Canada stood by our side and showed itself to be a true friend," he wrote. "We remember with gratitude and affection how the people of Canada offered us the comfort of friendship and extraordinary assistance that day and in the following days by opening their airports, homes and hearts to us."

#1 in trade, tourism, and oil imports, Canada is vital to American needs. Would be nice if the United States can remember what life was like before September 11, 2001 and remember how important Canada is in their world. Not that we should go backward, but the United States will be better off going forward with Canada as a trusted friend.

Canadians have more opportunities for 'pursuit of happiness'

Do Canadians have more freedom than Americans, who live in the land of the free?

Americans would sharply disagree with that statement, but mostly out of ignorance.

I "pursue" this line of questioning in my latest column for my political analysis Web site, Democracy Soup.

Whichever country you call home, hope you are enjoying what freedoms you have this long weekend.

U.S.-Canada need to remember tourism when dealing with security

Journalists who rely purely on anecdotes are usually lazy in their approach. But there is something to be said for having anecdotes be part of the story.

Tourism between the United States and Canada is down in the last 10 years. The efforts to do this for security have ignored the impact on tourism.

On the way to Windsor, Canadian customs brought a dog onto the bus. The questions were really tough but fair. And this was the easiest of the journeys. On the way to Detroit, they went through my suitcase and bags after having attended a film festival.

But there are countless stories that are worse. The guy — standing next to me — who was being sternly addressed for lying to customs officials has a much worse story to tell.

The irony was that U.S. officials, including the customs officers' boss Janet Napolitano, were in Canada at the same time. They probably weren't going through Napolitano's luggage.

A more in-depth look at this dichotomy is available on our sister blog, Democracy Soup.

'This Hour Has 22 Minutes' has fun with Christine O'Donnell

This segment and video ran on my sister blog, Democracy Soup. Mary Walsh of CBC's "This Hour Has 22 Minutes" had some fun chasing down U.S. Senate candidate and teabagger Christine O'Donnell.

Here is the link.

G20 wrapup: Daily Show take, police storming peaceful protesters

Wrapping up the G20 coverage from Toronto requires a look back to see how others reacted as well. The Daily Show's take agreed with our impressions that deficit-cutting, while noble, seems hasty given the economic situations in the major world powers, especially the United States.

The Daily Show was critical of the protests without spotlighting the innocent victims as this video (below) notes.

This looks bad. Yet how many MSM outlets will talk about this side of the G20 protests?

I also have a more serious take on the G20 summit from my sister political blog, DemocracySoup.

Steve Nash and the new Arizona immigration law

Is the pride and joy of Canadian basketball — Steve Nash — in trouble thanks to the new immigration law in Arizona?

After all, Nash was born in South Africa and grew up in Canada. And as far as we know, Nash isn't an American citizen. Sure, Nash likely has the sufficient papers — work visa or something similar. But should the Phoenix Suns worry about losing Nash?

Canadians aren't likely the target of immigration laws, even if they aren't here legally. And if they did try to go after Nash, there will be a huge sway of protesters.

If you are going to pass a law knowing it won't be applied equally, there have to be reasons to question that law. Unless Canadians have the "wrong" skin color, they aren't likely to worry about the police. Especially if they look like Steve Nash.

For more on this topic, check out my take on my political blog.