Now that US Trade Representative (USTR) Katherine Tai in her recent meeting with Canada’s International Trade Minister Mary Ng has officially taken notice of the Online Streaming Act (Bill C-11), (“Ambassador Tai expressed concern about…pending legislation in the Canadian Parliament that could impact digital streaming services“) this raises the question as to whether aspects of […]

As I sit writing this blog on Labour Day (or Labor Day if you are south of the border), I am conscious of the fact that by the time it gets published, things may well have changed. NAFTA negotiations between Canadian and US negotiators are set to resume on Wednesday morning, September 5, after a […]

I recently appeared (July 26), with Dr. Laura Dawson, Director of the Canada Institute at the Wilson Center (and a member of the CGAI Advisory Council), before the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association’s Canadian Regional Conference in Ottawa to speak on Canada’s current trade situation. The CPA membership consists of federal, provincial and territorial legislators. Below are my consolidated remarks.   Constructive powers like […]

Donald Trump is a bare-knuckled, sharp-elbowed negotiator who instinctively goes for his opponent’s weakness. In Canada’s case, this weakness is our hypocritical and self-defeating defence of supply management, particularly in the dairy sector. When Trump ignores Canada’s long-standing partnership with the United States but brings world attention to the nearly 300 per cent tariffs imposed […]