The Harper government’s empty agenda leading up to the Security and Prosperity Partnership summit with Mexico and the United States risks a lost opportunity for Canada, Liberal MPs said today.
“Beyond rescuing our relationship with Mexico from an all-time low-point over botched visas, Canada faces a host of urgent issues that Prime Minister Harper has been all too silent on,” said Liberal Foreign Affairs Critic Bob Rae.
Mr. Rae identified five key areas where Canada has been losing ground to its North American neighbours: H1N1 pandemic preparedness; climate change policy; border hardening; “Buy American” trade restrictions; and treatment of foreign nationals.
“Stephen Harper’s failure to defend Canada from ‘Buy American’ trade restrictions is already costing Canadian jobs. Now the Conservatives’ inaction on climate change is putting Canada at the mercy of tough new American environmental trade regulations and risking more Canadian jobs,” said Liberal International Trade Critic Scott Brison. “Canadian workers need a federal government with a plan to protect Canadian jobs, but so far the Conservatives are only offering political posturing and empty rhetoric.”
These new challenges come after the Harper government put $240 million in annual tourism income in jeopardy with sudden new Mexican visa requirements. The Harper government also stood idly by while the United States imposed strict passport requirements at all land border crossings on July 1st, further damaging cross-border tourism and trade.
“With North America hardest hit by the H1N1 flu pandemic, we need a continental action plan to prevent the flu’s spread this fall,” said Mr. Rae. “Mr. Harper must also use the opportunity when meeting with foreign heads of state to raise the issue of Canadians detained abroad. In particular, he must urge President Obama to remove Omar Khadr from Guantanamo Bay and return him to Canada, where he can be dealt with in a system respecting his rights as a Canadian and his clear status as a child soldier.”
