"DON'T ALERT THE FARM" WOULD BE WISE ADVICE FOR OUR SELFIE STYLED PM ON US-CANADA RELA
I have a friend who always gives good council and a variety of topics and one of his favourite sayings is "Don't alert the farm" or don't draw unnecessary attention to yourself. The current Trudeau government might be wise to take his council. There are all kinds of reasons to dislike President Donald J. Trump, rightly or wrongly. Some see him as a swaggering bully, a misogynist, stubborn, a ruthless business man with no governance experience and a know it all. He might well be all those things. His executive order yesterday halting refugees from seven Arab countries from entering the United States for four months while they tighten screening procedures for extremists seems to have attracted the hysteria from the Democrats and Liberals that everyone expected. Never mind that five of the countries are in a state of civil war with ISIS and Al Qaeda leading the insurgent parade, one is on the verge of civil war, and one the foremost state sponsor of terrorism. Never mind that as ISIS comes under pressure that it is trying to slip terrorists into Western countries to carry out terror attacks and they have sent these fighters abroad posing as migrants and refugees. Never mind the fact that two of Trump's predecessors George W. Bush and Barack Obama have taken similar actions. The United States is a sovereign state that can decide who crosses its borders or not. At the end of the day whether Canada and the international community like it or not Donald J. Trump is President for the next four years and he has a mandate to govern. He has an agenda of change, right or wrong, that he is intent on executing and a Senate and Congress that will likely back him. Our Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is going to have to restrain his natural impulse to be the Anti-Trump leader of the opposition to the Trump administration. We have many differences of opinion between our two national governments. The Prime Minister in announcing that Canada's borders were wide open to refugees in an effort to score political points off of Trump was not wise ahead of what will be unpleasant negotiations over a variety of issues, including North American Free Trade. You need to build a relationship with a partner before you chastise them and when the Trump Administration is focused elsewhere you "don't alert the farm" and focus their attention on Canada. If the government was concerned about Canadian duals or Canadians on green cards you get on the phone and talk to your American counterparts if you want a successful end. In short, Canada and Canadians have a keen national interest in maintaining a strong, sound, and friendly relationship with the United States. It is our most important trade and strategic relationship. What the Trudeau government needs to avoid is being viewed by the Trump administration as a snow-covered Mexico of the North where they see us as a smug child to be tossed on the American knee. Our government and Prime Minister need to build a relationship now not burn bridges and Canadian interests for the sake of a quick tweet and a selfie.
