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Business and Trade |
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News from Connect2Canada
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The Connect2Canada Team
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Special Features
Minister Cannon Concludes Productive Visit to Washington, D.C.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada
The Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today concluded a productive visit to Washington, D.C., where he met with U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the first time. The Minister and Secretary met to follow up on discussions between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama in Ottawa last week.
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Minister Baird issues statement on National Aviation Day
Monday, February 23, 2009
Transport Canada
Canada's Transport Minister, John Baird, today released the following statement to mark Canada's first National Aviation Day.
"We have come a long way in the hundred years since J.A.D. McCurdy flew the Silver Dart at Baddeck, Nova Scotia. That short flight—just 800 metres long—changed the face of our country and the course of our history.
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Government of Canada Announces New Support for Solar Water Heating in B.C. Homes
Friday, February 20, 2009
Natural Resources Canada
More British Columbians will be able to take advantage of renewable energy renovations to their homes thanks to the new SolarBC initiative. "This is an investment that works for Canadians by generating new economic activity, helping homeowners control their energy costs and reducing harmful emissions," said South Surrey–White Rock Cloverdale M.P. Russ Hiebert, who made the announcement on behalf of the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Natural Resources.
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International News
Friends and allies
Friday, February 20, 2009
L. Ian MacDonald, National Post
Barack Obama spent seven hours on the ground in Canada, yesterday --a visit so quick, he was home in the White House in time to help his daughters with their homework.
Nevertheless, the Canadians were very glad he restored the tradition of a new American president making Canada his first foreign visit. It was a custom followed by John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, two presidents with whom Obama has much in common as a rhetorical leader blessed with a certain physical grace.
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A new era of co-operation
Friday, February 20, 2009
Campbell Clark, Globe and Mail
Barack Obama and Stephen Harper reset Canada-U.S. relations in three hours of meetings yesterday, bending over backward to dispel tension from the George W. Bush era and pledging to co-operate at the border and around the world.
Mr. Obama used a visit to a close neighbour to send a message that the U.S. wants to work in concert with allies - jumping in at a news conference to say he hadn't pressed for Canadian troops to stay in Afghanistan past 2011 and pledging to consult closely with Ottawa on strategy.
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White House among those gushing about Canada following Obama visit
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Lee-Anne Goodman, The Daily Gleaner
Canadians, it seems, weren't the only ones left swooning in the wake of U.S. President Barack Obama's whirlwind visit to Ottawa and the apparent cross-border love affair it has sparked.
The feelings, it seems, are mutual.
The White House itself has been gushing about Thursday's visit, praising Canada's warm welcome of the president, the discussions held between Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and even the lunch that was served to the dignitaries.
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Harper looks to keep up agenda's momentum after Obama visit
Friday, February 20, 2009
Mike Blanchfield, National Post
An appropriate working title might be: Mr. Cannon, Mr. Prentice and Mr. Flaherty go to Washington.
Flush from his successful meeting with U.S. President Barack Obama, Prime Minister Stephen Harper is dispatching his top cabinet ministers to put meat on the bones of the broad, but still vague, agenda the two leaders set in their short, yet amicable meeting.
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Canada joins U. S. call for help in Afghanistan
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Sheldon Alberts and Michael Blanchfield, National Post
Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon yesterday joined the United States in appealing for NATO allies to send more civilian personnel to aid in reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan.
During a meeting in Washington with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Mr. Cannon said he welcomed the U. S. announcement last week that an additional 17,000 U. S. troops will be deployed to Afghanistan beginning later this spring.
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Canada seeks strategic ties by focusing aid on Americas
Monday, February 23, 2009
Campbell Clark, Globe and Mail
Canada will shift foreign aid dollars toward the Americas in a move aimed at backing Prime Minister Stephen Harper's desire to be a bigger player in the hemisphere.
In a long-delayed announcement yesterday, International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda named 20 countries where Canada will concentrate most of its spending on development assistance, rather than scattering it across 69 nations.
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Entrevue avec le ministre Pierre Arcand - Le Québec doit se mettre en mode solution aux États-Unis
Lundi 23 février 2009
Marie-Christine Bonzom, Le Devoir
Après sa première visite à New York et à Washington, Pierre Arcand, le ministre des Relations internationales, affirme que le Québec est bien placé pour avancer ses intérêts aux États-Unis.
«Nous avons une belle chance d'améliorer notre influence aux États-Unis», déclare Pierre Arcand dans un entretien de fond exclusif accordé au Devoir à l'issue de sa visite. Le ministre tire «un bilan très positif», non seulement de sa visite, mais aussi de celle de Barack Obama à Ottawa.
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Business and Trade
Harper stresses importance of trade
Monday, February 23, 2009
Sinclair Stewart, Globe and Mail
Prime Minister Stephen Harper swept into Manhattan for a series of high-level meetings on the economic crisis Monday, publicly promoting open trade between Canada and the United States while privately casting about for input on how best to deal with worsening financial conditions at home.
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Day hits his political stride
Monday, February 23, 2009
David Akin, Ottawa Citizen
On overseas trips, International Trade Minister Stockwell Day is up at 4 a.m. so he can squeeze in a 10-kilometre run -- puffing security guards in tow -- before beginning the day's meetings.
On Parliament Hill, Day recently sent out a memo to MPs from all parties seeking to organize a weekly fun run to encourage fitness and some non-partisan camaraderie.
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GM on right track with Canada plan: Industry Minister
Monday, February 23, 2009
Reuters, National Post
The Canadian arm of General Motors Corp is on the right track as far as its restructuring plan is concerned, but serious discussions will still be required before the struggling automaker qualifies for emergency aid, Canada's Industry Minister said Monday.
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Beef industry seeks trade challenge against U.S.
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
The Canadian Press, Globe and Mail
Only a week after expressing hope that U.S. President Barack Obama would soften a trade rule that is already hurting Canada's ailing beef industry, worried producers say they've learned that Washington's final plan will hurt them even more.
The final U.S. Country-Of-Origin-Labelling rule, which takes effect March 16, would effectively force all American meat companies to label beef with a sticker that states where the product came from, the Canadian Cattlemen's Association said Tuesday.
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Quebec looking to sell hydro across the border
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Rheal Seguin, Globe and Mail
Quebec Premier Jean Charest is already moving to take full advantage of any Canada-U.S. clean-energy agreement, seeing it as an excellent opportunity to sell its surplus hydroelectric power.
During Thursday's meeting in Ottawa between U.S. President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the leaders agreed to a new environmental initiative aimed at developing clean energy to reduce greenhouse gases.
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RBC logs $1.05-billion profit
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Globe and Mail
Royal Bank of Canada reported first-quarter profit of $1.05-billion on Thursday, down 15 per cent from a year ago.
The market environment shaved more than $600-million (after tax and lower bonuses are factored in) off of the bottom line at Canada's biggest bank.
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Canadian News
From BeaverTails to bloopers, a President charms a nation
Friday, February 20, 2009
Gloria Galloway and Josh Wingrove, Globe and Mail
He had us at merci.
Barack Obama's visit to Ottawa yesterday was a six-hour romance with a country eager to return his affections.
Indeed, the whole nation seemed weak in the knees.
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U.S. recovery 'essential' to Canada, says Flaherty
Monday, February 23, 2009
Paul Vieira, Globe and Mail
Finance Minister Jim Flaherty urged legislators to pass his stimuli-laden budget as soon as possible, while cautioning that "it will not protect every job or resolve every problem."
"The consequences of delay for Canadians is too high," Mr. Flaherty said. "This budget contains the right measures to help Canadians right now."
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Le Québec, future Alberta de l'électricité
Lundi 23 fevrier 2009
Martin Croteau, La Presse
Le Québec pourrait bien devenir la prochaine Alberta si les projets énergétiques discutés par Stephen Harper et Barack Obama se concrétisent, estime le ministre des Ressources naturelles, Claude Béchard. Mais la province doit se donner les moyens de ses ambitions en poursuivant le développement de son potentiel électrique, a-t-il soutenu en entrevue à La Presse.
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Ontario promises 50,000 new jobs with Go Green policy
Monday, February 23, 2009
The Canadian Press, Toronto Star
Ontario's Green Energy Act will create 50,000 new jobs in construction, trucking and engineering while laying the groundwork for developing projects more quickly, Energy Minister George Smitherman said today.
Architects, contractors and installers will see more opportunities as they're asked to retrofit buildings for energy efficiency, Smitherman added.
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Study praises Canadian efforts
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Peter ONeil, Regina Leader-Post
Canada drew praise Wednesday from the author of a study looking at how six countries have prepared during the post-2001 era for large-scale disasters.
The report, by the Paris-based Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, assessed the preparedness and mitigation efforts of Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Japan and Singapore.
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Silver Dart replica makes five flights
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The Canadian Press, Globe and Mail
Hundreds of people watched from a frozen Baddeck Bay on Sunday as a former Canadian astronaut coaxed a replica of the Silver Dart into the air on the eve of the 100th anniversary of the original's historic flight.
Conditions were perfect as Bjarni Tryggvason climbed into the fragile bird-like biplane and made five separate flights over a 1,000-metre runway on the ice-covered lake.
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Opinion/Editorial
Oilsands will never get a fair shake
Thursday, February 26, 2009
Gary Lamphier, Edmonton Journal
I've always had a thing for National Geographic. Without access to its pictures, I'm sure I would have flunked Grade 5 geography.
My projects on the Great Pyramids of Egypt or the lost Incan city of Machu Picchu would have been a crashing bore. I know that in my heart.
Like millions around the world, I love the magazine's lush photo spreads. When it comes to capturing dazzling images of our planet, nobody does it like National Geographic.
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Canada's Bipolar Response to Obama Trip
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
David Archibald, Embassy Magazine
Five days after the inauguration of Barack Obama, the world celebrated another larger-than-life figure known in equal measure for his poetical politics and inspiring prose. Jan. 25 marked the 250th anniversary of the birth of Robert Burns. This Scottish luminary is best known for taking his nation's pulse and inspiring renewed confidence in a dispirited people.
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