Never offer only criticism unless you want to piss a country off! It's Carnegie 101 for crying out loud.
Washington scolds Ottawa
U.S. tired of Canadian attacks on environment, trade policies [/align]if(typeof sIFR == "function"){ runSIFR(); }
By DANIEL LEBLANC AND GLORIA GALLOWAY
Wednesday, December 14, 2005 Posted at 4:57 AM EST
From Wednesday's Globe and Mail
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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.
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[/align][/align]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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US tired of Canada's insults
