Businesses always feel like they need more communication, yet they say this because there isn't enough communication.
So when the leaders of the three major North American countries only meet once a year, and that meeting gets postponed … there isn't enough communication.
Canada was scheduled to host the 2015 Three Amigos summit, and the Harper Government has indefinitely postponed the summit. The summit was scheduled for late February and no new date has been announced.
There is plenty for the three countries to talk about to fill at least 3 Three Amigos summits. Even when the summits do happen, not much gets done.
North America lacks a setup such as the European Union to facilitate concerns between countries. Left on its own, the three countries in this continent don't get much done.
The Keystone XL pipeline would be high on the list for Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama, much less the coverage from U.S. media. Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto definitely would have brought up great concern over Canadian requirements of visas for visitors from Mexico.
A successful Three Amigos summit, or even 2 decent summits, could show off Harper's foreign policy skills in an election year. If Harper is delaying the summit to delay the bad news that could come from the event, Harper would be better off having the summit in February, as far away from the scheduled October 19 election.
A lot of discussion between countries happens in less powerful positions, but if those negotiations are happening, the press in either the United States or Canada has been completely silent. You would think that Secretary of State John Kerry and Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird would swap notes, or equivalent cabinet or even undersecretary personnel would talk border security, food safety, lumber, imports/exports, high-fructose corn syrup, or any number of relevant topics.
Harper and Canada haven't hosted the Three Amigos summit since 2007 in Montebello, Quebec. Canada was scheduled to host the summit in 2010 in Wakefield, Quebec, but initially postponed the meeting before not having the summit at all.
I am not a psychologist, but it does seem that Harper is reluctant to host a Three Amigos summit in his own country.
The leaders last met in 2014 in Toluca, Mexico. The leaders didn't even schedule a summit in 2013.
Things won't magically improve between the countries if they meet, but meeting spurs understanding if not cooperation between the countries.
video credit: The Daily Show/Comedy Central
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