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A trade deal that Stephen Harper can’t refuse

Ivison Nov 14, 2011 – 6:39 PM ET Last Updated: Nov 15, 2011 8:55 AM

OTTAWA — Stephen Harper’s foreign policy has been governed by the desire to remain as friendly as possible with the United States, while still maintaining a fig leaf of self-respect.
In recent weeks, that policy has been called into question, as U.S. lawmakers have made a series of policy decisions – Buy America, the new entry fee for travellers, and the Keystone pipeline delay – that have left the impression that Canada’s clout in Washington is somewhere on a par with Turks and Caicos.
Yet, in Honolulu on the weekend, a remarkable shift in Canadian trade policy took place that may, in part, have been an attempt by U.S. President Barack Obama to mend fences with the Harper government.

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