U.S. President Joe Biden will be making his much-anticipated visit to Canada in just a matter of weeks. This will be his first time visiting America’s northern neighbour since taking office in 2021.
Questions abound as to why President Biden is only now making the visit more than two years into his presidency. Previous presidents made the trek much sooner. The White House has not offered an explanation for the long wait but as the saying goes: better late than never. However, it is also the first time since George W. Bush, that a sitting U.S. president has been to Canada as part of a bilateral visit.
Presidents Obama’s and Trump’s visits all coincided with multilateral or trilateral engagements. This alone makes the sojourn indeed noteworthy. Still, while the trip is long overdue, it is timely considering the pressing issues confronting both nations.
Like any long-standing relationship, complications abound. Percolating just beneath the surface, spiralling inflation; a nagging migrant crisis; raging climate change, and a bellicose China are just a few of the issues that threaten this united front.
The United States is Canada’s biggest trading partner, exceeding more than CAD$1 trillion (US$745.1 billion) in bilateral trade in goods and services in 2021. However, as the “Freedom Convoy” protest last year revealed, that robust and fruitful economic relationship can be fragile and fraught with danger on both sides.
The blockade brought auto production of major car manufacturers to its knees as the protests halted movement between the two nations. Now, out-of-control inflation, spurred by supply chain issues and exacerbated by the war in Ukraine, has global leaders on edge.
Biden and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must now find common ground to ensure economic stability. Amid the backdrop and only adding to the growing economic uncertainty, recalcitrant House Republicans are threatening to push the U.S. economy further towards the edge of the debt-ceiling cliff. No doubt, this game of political chicken being played in Washington could very well send Canada’s entire economy spiralling into the abyss if a deal is not reached by the summer.
Unfortunately, a fragile and potentially reeling economy is but one of the most pressing and near term challenges facing both nations. China’s truculence has been on full display in recent months. Spy balloons illegally flying over American and Canadian airspace have made national security an equally and ominous matter the north must immediately confront. The two nations’ efforts to jointly repel the potential threat was successful. However, more challenges from a rising China and the growing threat of autocracy worldwide is pushing this western alliance to make hard choices sooner, rather than later.
Climate change is another salient issue that is moving the two nations closer rather than pulling them apart. Biden has made tackling climate change a signature issue of his Administration. He helped launch the Global Methane Pledge at COP26, which cuts total methane emissions by at least 30 per cent by 2030.
The White House also committed to an ambitious new U.S. target for cutting climate pollution 50 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030. This number is almost double what was promised in the Paris Agreement.
Speaking of which, on his very first day in office, Biden announced the United States would rejoin the Paris Agreement, an international pact of more than 190 countries committed to averting the disastrous effects of climate change.
The Biden Administration has moved aggressively on climate change but persistent drought; voluminous wildfires; and deadly storms continue to punish both nations costing billions in clean up and restoration efforts.
Pledges and global confabs have been a great first step. However, as Prime Minister Trudeau bills Canada as a global climate leader, the country lags behind a number of its G7 and G20 counterparts in reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Since 2000, Canada’s emissions have actually risen by 27 per cent. Biden and Trudeau have said all the right things on climate and undoubtedly they will again during their bilateral. The question now is will their actions match their words?
Both nations have always worked largely on one accord but where there could be a source of real angst is the growing migrant problem. The southern border between the United States and Mexico remains porous and the unyielding flow of illegal crossings have vexed the Biden Administration since day one. Just recently, the White House announced it is considering bringing back a Trump-era policy of detaining families.
A policy that is largely unpopular with the president’s base and immigration activists. Moreover, U.S. comprehensive immigration reform remains elusive and is a non-starter in this era of divided government.
Haiti’s further descent into state failure compounds the problem for both nations. The U.S. would like to see Canada lead a multinational effort in Haiti to address its myriad of problems. Canada, however, is resisting those entreaties, instead pledging aid. Unfortunately, the security situation grows increasingly dire with each passing day and no relief in sight.
As the island nation continues to become a cesspool of violence and dysfunction, its citizens could begin fleeing en masse; seeking refuge on North American shores. Biden needs the Canadian government to operate as an active and hands-on partner in Haiti, if for no other reason than to ease the migration load straining an overburdened American immigration system.
Biden’s trip is being described by the White House as re-affirming the commitment to the U.S.-Canada partnership. In fact, there is far more that binds the two nations and its respective people than divides them.
A vibrant working democracy, Canada is more than just the neighbour to the north; it is an extension of home. The President and First Lady will be on friendly ground when they visit. The 150-year-old relationship is one of the closest; most comprehensive in the world. Still, many Canadians will be left to wonder; what took you so long?
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
