Barack Obama lays out red carpet for Justin Trudeau in reset of relations

Leaders paper over differences: rejected Keystone pipeline, Canada’s looming withdrawal of combat air mission against Islamic State.

Thestar.com
Nov. 19, 2015
By Bruce Campion-Smith

U.S. President Barack Obama laid out the welcome mat for Justin Trudeau with a White House invitation, an appreciation of the common ground between the two nations and praise that the new prime minister will bring “energy and reform” to Canada.

The two leaders met here Thursday, their first formal meeting since Trudeau won power in October. They talked together, closeted with advisers, for just over 20 minutes before inviting in reporters to listen to their warm banter, shared smiles and handshakes, all meant to signal the reset of relations between Washington and Ottawa.

“We’ve seen the incredible excitement that Justin generated with his campaign in Canada. I’m confident that he’s going to be able to provide a great boost of energy and reform to the Canadian political landscape,” Obama said.

The president invited Trudeau and his wife to the White House, a visit he said could happen early in the new year.

“I’m sure Michelle’s going to want to visit with Canada’s new first lady, so we are going to be looking for a date for that to happen,” Obama said, referring to his wife.

Obama recalled his first phone call to Trudeau when he advised, “If you don’t want to (go) grey like me, you need to start dyeing it soon.

That prompted Trudeau to tell the president, “So young and yet so cynical!”

Their first meeting was upbeat, an attempt to revive a diplomatic relationship that had appeared to sour at the leaders’ level during Stephen Harper’s time as prime minister.

Obama and Trudeau papered over their differences - notably, the rejected Keystone pipeline and Canada’s looming withdrawal of the combat air mission against the Islamic State - and talked up common ground in what Obama declared was a “wonderful meeting.”

“Across the board our interests align,” the president said.

Indeed, Obama used the meeting to praise his new counterpart, suggesting that the prime minister will bring a fresh - and welcome - approach to the issues of climate change, a priority for the White House going into the Paris talks on greenhouse gases.

“The fact that we now have a very strong partner in Canada to help set up some global rules around how we approach this I think will be extraordinarily helpful,” Obama said.

The two leaders met on the margins of the APEC summit, which wrapped up Thursday. Security, the Islamic State fight, refugees, trade, the economy and the long-shared border between the two countries were topics they discussed.

Obama suggested that Canada will sign onto the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact, even though the new Liberal government has been non-committal, saying it’s still reviewing the fine print of the deal signed by the previous Conservative government.

“We are both soon to be signatories of the TPP agreement. That’s another area we can continue to have important discussions,” Obama said. “I know Justin has to agree with what’s happened.”

Two potential irritants were downplayed. The Liberals, for example, have committed to pull CF-18 fighter jets from the U.S.-led military effort against Islamic State extremists in Iraq and Syria. That stand prompted an American reporter to ask whether Obama had asked Trudeau to reconsider.

Trudeau, who has said that Canada will boost its mission to train local fighters, replied that Canada would continue to be a “strong member of the military coalition combating ISIS.

“That’s what I reassured the president about and that’s what we’re going to be continuing to be engaging with, going to be discussing further the best ways Canada can move forward,” the prime minister said.

But, with both leaders warning of a long fight - Obama said it would be a “multi-year task” - questions now swirl around how long a Canadian mission could be on the ground in Iraq.

“This is a problem without a quick solution and we shouldn’t be pretending it is,” Trudeau said of the ISIS threat.

Both leaders are dealing with a backlash in their respective countries over taking in Syrian refugees amid fears that an influx could pose a security risk.

Obama said refugees being considered for entry into the U.S. - most of them children, women and families - face the “most rigorous process” for anyone seeking to travel stateside.

“The idea that they pose somehow a more significant threat than all the tourists who pour into the United States every single day just doesn’t jibe with reality,” Obama said, blaming the refugee debate on partisan politics.

“My expectation is after the initial spasm of rhetoric, people will settle down,” he added.

“I think there is just a very strong tendency for us to get worked up around issues that don’t actually make us safer but make for good political sound bites.”

The other irritant in the relationship is the president’s recent rejection of the Keystone XL pipeline to move what he dubbed as dirty Alberta oil to U.S. refineries.

Trudeau said Canada has been saddled with the perception that it hasn’t been doing enough on the environmental front.

“One of the first tasks I have ... is to reassure Canadians and others that we are serious about meeting reduction targets, about being positive actors in the fight against climate change,” he said.

Obama said nations are going to have a “rethink how we do energy,” and shift away from carbon-emitting sources.

Obama said oil prices are likely to remain low for some time, presenting what he said was an opportunity for companies to diversify.

“This is going to be a messy, bumpy process worldwide, but I am confident that we can get it done,” he said.