Canada and the United States are a "family" Obama's Ambassador delivers his first speech in Quebec

Vincent Brousseau-Pouliot, La Presse Affaires, October 22, 2009

(Montreal) "Bonjour mesdames et messieurs!" (Ladies and gentlemen, good morning.)
By beginning his remarks with a few words of French, the new U.S. Ambassador to Canada, David Jacobson, had a successful diplomatic opening in Quebec. The Chicago attorney, who was deputy finance chair for Barack Obama's presidential campaign, delivered his first speech in Quebec this morning during a conference hosted by the Canadian American Business Council in downtown Montreal. "My son goes to McGill, so I will accept all invitations to Montreal during my mandate," he said.

In a reassuring tone, the Ambassador committed himself to not reopening NAFTA. "It is not in our best interest to renegotiate NAFTA", he said. "At the most, maybe we could make a few adjustments on environment and labor laws. But fundamentally, NAFTA works."

Ambassador Jacobson reiterated the Obama administration's desire to resolve the issue of the Buy American clause, which excludes Canadian businesses from the bidding process on contracts for U.S. states and cities. "We understand Canada's concerns very well," said David Jacobson. "Every elected official I have met since my nomination has raised this with me, as has every journalist I have been interviewed by. President Obama firmly believes in free trade and there are ongoing high-level discussions between the governments of our two countries to resolve the issue."

During a 15-minute speech, delivered in a conciliatory tone, the U.S. Ambassador underscored the very strong ties that unite Canada and the United States. "What would be extraordinary for other countries seems ordinary to us," he said. "We aren't only neighbors or close friends, we're family. We have always been there for each other."

David Jacobson reminded the audience of the very strong economic ties between the two countries, praising, among other things, Canada's energy production capacity. "Canada is our largest energy supplier, our most secure and reliable source of energy. The oil sands are the largest petroleum reserve in the world that is not owned by a government".

However, the 57-year old Ambassador warned his Canadian audience: the U.S. will not hesitate, now and again, to voice their difference of opinion on certain trade matters, such as intellectual property protection. Last April, Washington placed its northern neighbor on a list of countries that don't take sufficient measures to curb pirating. Canada is the only western country on this list.

David Jacobson, who delivered yesterday his second speech in Canada since his nomination, has already met with Quebec Premier Jean Charest twice in private. He plans to visit all 10 provinces before the end of November.