Canada a tiny blip on U.S. radar, envoy says
By BETH GORHAM
Sunday, February 27, 2005 Updated at 4:10 PM EST
Canadian Press
Washington Canada's important but not prominent in the United States, so attracting national public attention south of the border has been nearly impossible, says outgoing envoy Michael Kergin.
Mr. Kergin, who's retiring after more than four years in Washington and 38 years in public service, was candid in a recent interview about the stark contrast of his quiet diplomacy and the blunt role that U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci has played in Canada.
The audience is different, said Mr. Kergin, 62. There's an incredible sensitivity to what he says.
In Canada, if Paul Cellucci snores loudly at night, there's somebody around who's going to say he's in an awful foul mood and he's going to hit us tomorrow on our lack of military (resources).
I could be down here on the corner of Constitution and Pennsylvania and yell the worst implications against the White House and I don't know that people would care very much or notice. It would have to be pretty awful to get a footnote in the Washington Times (newspaper).
Instead, says Mr. Kergin, he's been conveying Canada's interests to U.S. legislators, one at a time, especially the ones who don't know the country well and those from northern states wary of trade competition.
I've had very good access, a lot people know how important this trading relationship is, Mr. Kergin said in his embassy office overlooking Capitol Hill.
Canada is known to be a very important player, it's just not a prominent player. It's not a Saudi Arabia, in the sense that Saudi Arabia could be a huge problem to the United States if they turn off the spigot of oil or if ... the society suddenly (turns to) goes Muslim extremism.
Mr. Kergin's tour of duty has included the tumultuous aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a major freeze in relations over the Iraq war, the U.S. ban on Canadian beef in May 2003 and dealing with a President that is intensely unpopular in Canada.
But he offered a view of George W. Bush that contrasts with the President's swaggering, smirking persona and perceptions that he's an inferior intellect with others pulling the strings in his administration.
Mr. Kergin first met Mr. Bush about a week after his January 2001 inauguration when former prime minister Jean Chrétien came to Washington to meet him.
I guess the expectation I had was that he'd let his heavy-duty cabinet players do the talking, said Mr. Kergin, who started in Washington in October 2000 when Bill Clinton was president.
But these very powerful personalities around the table spoke only when spoken to. That surprised me a little bit. He was very much in charge. He carried the conversation. He was very well briefed on the issues.
Despite falling out over Canada's decision to stay out of the Iraq war, Mr. Kergin said Mr. Bush and Mr. Chrétien actually got along very well personally they weren't dissimilar people, both very political, both good senses of humour, both kept their eyes on strategy and let their cabinet people work the files.
Mr. Kergin has sat in on about a dozen meetings with Mr. Bush, including one during the President's visit to Canada in December where he pushed participation in his missile defence program.
Prime Minister Paul Martin finally rejected the overtures last week, leading to speculation on both sides of the border about damage to relations that had just been healing after Iraq.
Mr. Bush understands the issue was politically difficult for Mr. Martin's minority government, but was baffled by the widespread opposition among Canadians, said Mr. Kergin.
I don't think he's going to hold it against us, he just doesn't understand why.
He may not understand, he may be puzzled by it, he may not agree with it, but he accepts it and respects it, said Mr. Kergin.
He certainly wasn't trying to bully us, but at the same time he made it pretty obvious publicly that this is a program he really personally believes in, which he thinks is right for the United States ... and is right for North America.
In every meeting, said Mr. Kergin, Mr. Bush was comfortable, relaxed and knowledgeable, but didn't display Mr. Clinton's extraordinary grasp of detail.
He knows what he wants, has figured out his objectives, Mr. Kergin said of Mr. Bush. It doesn't mean he won't listen to people. He will.
Mr. Kergin also spoke of the Canada-bashing that's become routine among right-wing radio and TV outlets, saying they're fighting Democratic politics through the airwaves.
By exaggerating what's going on in Canada, by (stereotyping) us, they're saying: If you don't push back on the Democrats, you too could become a Canada, heaven forbid.
It's a reflection, said Mr. Kergin, of how divided the U.S. has become between those who see social progression as being the norm and those from the Republican side who say: Hell no. we won't go any further, (the) Roe vs. Wade (abortion decision) was already a step too far.
But Mr. Kergin noted that Canada was a much more conservative society than the U.S. during the Vietnam War era.
Our societies seem to go through waves, sometimes we crisscross and seem in sync, and others times we diverge and then come back again.
Mr. Kergin, who plans to teach and do some consulting when he returns to Ottawa, was scheduled to give a farewell speech Monday at a think-tank in Washington.
Mr. Martin's new appointee, former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna, officially starts Tuesday.
What stands out from his posting, said Mr. Kergin, is the quick work by both countries to reopen the border after the terrorist attacks and the new Canadian consulates across the U.S. that have increased regional representation.
We're networking much better I think.
By BETH GORHAM
Sunday, February 27, 2005 Updated at 4:10 PM EST
Canadian Press
Washington Canada's important but not prominent in the United States, so attracting national public attention south of the border has been nearly impossible, says outgoing envoy Michael Kergin.
Mr. Kergin, who's retiring after more than four years in Washington and 38 years in public service, was candid in a recent interview about the stark contrast of his quiet diplomacy and the blunt role that U.S. Ambassador Paul Cellucci has played in Canada.
The audience is different, said Mr. Kergin, 62. There's an incredible sensitivity to what he says.
In Canada, if Paul Cellucci snores loudly at night, there's somebody around who's going to say he's in an awful foul mood and he's going to hit us tomorrow on our lack of military (resources).
I could be down here on the corner of Constitution and Pennsylvania and yell the worst implications against the White House and I don't know that people would care very much or notice. It would have to be pretty awful to get a footnote in the Washington Times (newspaper).
Instead, says Mr. Kergin, he's been conveying Canada's interests to U.S. legislators, one at a time, especially the ones who don't know the country well and those from northern states wary of trade competition.
I've had very good access, a lot people know how important this trading relationship is, Mr. Kergin said in his embassy office overlooking Capitol Hill.
Canada is known to be a very important player, it's just not a prominent player. It's not a Saudi Arabia, in the sense that Saudi Arabia could be a huge problem to the United States if they turn off the spigot of oil or if ... the society suddenly (turns to) goes Muslim extremism.
Mr. Kergin's tour of duty has included the tumultuous aftermath of the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, a major freeze in relations over the Iraq war, the U.S. ban on Canadian beef in May 2003 and dealing with a President that is intensely unpopular in Canada.
But he offered a view of George W. Bush that contrasts with the President's swaggering, smirking persona and perceptions that he's an inferior intellect with others pulling the strings in his administration.
Mr. Kergin first met Mr. Bush about a week after his January 2001 inauguration when former prime minister Jean Chrétien came to Washington to meet him.
I guess the expectation I had was that he'd let his heavy-duty cabinet players do the talking, said Mr. Kergin, who started in Washington in October 2000 when Bill Clinton was president.
But these very powerful personalities around the table spoke only when spoken to. That surprised me a little bit. He was very much in charge. He carried the conversation. He was very well briefed on the issues.
Despite falling out over Canada's decision to stay out of the Iraq war, Mr. Kergin said Mr. Bush and Mr. Chrétien actually got along very well personally they weren't dissimilar people, both very political, both good senses of humour, both kept their eyes on strategy and let their cabinet people work the files.
Mr. Kergin has sat in on about a dozen meetings with Mr. Bush, including one during the President's visit to Canada in December where he pushed participation in his missile defence program.
Prime Minister Paul Martin finally rejected the overtures last week, leading to speculation on both sides of the border about damage to relations that had just been healing after Iraq.
Mr. Bush understands the issue was politically difficult for Mr. Martin's minority government, but was baffled by the widespread opposition among Canadians, said Mr. Kergin.
I don't think he's going to hold it against us, he just doesn't understand why.
He may not understand, he may be puzzled by it, he may not agree with it, but he accepts it and respects it, said Mr. Kergin.
He certainly wasn't trying to bully us, but at the same time he made it pretty obvious publicly that this is a program he really personally believes in, which he thinks is right for the United States ... and is right for North America.
In every meeting, said Mr. Kergin, Mr. Bush was comfortable, relaxed and knowledgeable, but didn't display Mr. Clinton's extraordinary grasp of detail.
He knows what he wants, has figured out his objectives, Mr. Kergin said of Mr. Bush. It doesn't mean he won't listen to people. He will.
Mr. Kergin also spoke of the Canada-bashing that's become routine among right-wing radio and TV outlets, saying they're fighting Democratic politics through the airwaves.
By exaggerating what's going on in Canada, by (stereotyping) us, they're saying: If you don't push back on the Democrats, you too could become a Canada, heaven forbid.
It's a reflection, said Mr. Kergin, of how divided the U.S. has become between those who see social progression as being the norm and those from the Republican side who say: Hell no. we won't go any further, (the) Roe vs. Wade (abortion decision) was already a step too far.
But Mr. Kergin noted that Canada was a much more conservative society than the U.S. during the Vietnam War era.
Our societies seem to go through waves, sometimes we crisscross and seem in sync, and others times we diverge and then come back again.
Mr. Kergin, who plans to teach and do some consulting when he returns to Ottawa, was scheduled to give a farewell speech Monday at a think-tank in Washington.
Mr. Martin's new appointee, former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna, officially starts Tuesday.
What stands out from his posting, said Mr. Kergin, is the quick work by both countries to reopen the border after the terrorist attacks and the new Canadian consulates across the U.S. that have increased regional representation.
We're networking much better I think.
