LINKS April 4, 2011

BORDER

Border officials violated rules in forwarding photos [CP]

International search is on for missing Canadian couple [Spokesman-Review - WA]

Border guards to scan air, waterways, and shore [CTV]

US and Canadian officials celebrate longer hours at the Wild Horse Port [KFBB- Montana]

LABOUR/LABOR

Canadians decry Wisconsin anti-union labor law [presstv.ir]

MILITARY

War in Libya used to defend need for better fighters [Ottawa Citizen]

Canadians protected amid Qu-ran protests: Cannon [CBC]

ARCTIC

First-ever US Arctic investment summit [pr-usa.net]

TRADE

Stalking the savvy shopper [The Province - Vancouver]

Bills trying to raise their profile in Toronto [Globe and Mail]

ENERGY

No to a new tar sands pipeline [NY Times]

US media divided on proposed Keystone XL pipeline [Postmedia News]

Exxon test mega-load will roll Monday [Boise Weekly - Idaho]

Big rig opponents: Exxon comments validate fight [The Missoulian - Montana]

Environmentalists sue over mega-loads [The Independent Record - Helena, Montana]

Lawsuit tries to stop oil sands equipment from moving through Montana [Calgary Herald]

Liberal energy plan smacks of Trudeau: economist [Calgary Sun]

Leach: Liberals’ significant climate plan cloaked in silence [Globe and Mail]

Politicians need to see this: oil sands workers [Edmonton Journal]

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On Twitter at luizachsavage

Category: Today's Links

LINKS April 1, 2011

Updated 8:25 pm EST

BORDER

International weapons smuggling ring was based in Alberta: police [CP]

Canadian closes 3 border crossings [UPI]

Miller seeks 100 percent secure borders by 2016 [Detroit News]

Secure border act would tell DHS to prevent all illegal entries within 5 years [HSToday.com]

Canadian man arrested in Maine after bogus detonator threat made on bus [AP]

US Border patrol report [The Northern Light - WA]

Israeli traveler humiliated in Germany, Canada [ynetnews.com]

DIPLOMACY

High on the job: Ambassador Doer thrives on the adrenaline rush [Winnipeg Free Press]

Practical politics at work [Winnipeg Free Press]

TRADE

Harper talks trade, but is this just an outreach exercise? [Globe and Mail]

CRIME

Court documents link second polygamous leaders to cross-border marriages [CP]

MILITARY

No Canadian boots on the ground in Libya, Harper vows [Postmedia News]

Gates says other nations can arm Libyan rebels [NY Times]

NATO warns rebels against attacking civilians [NY Times]

Lawmakers batter Gates on Libya [Washington Post]

ENERGY

Enormous Kearl-bound oil sands shipments target of Montana lawsuit [CP]

100 US landowners tell Clinton Keystone XL pipeline too risky [NRDC.org]

Former State Dept. envoy backs Keystone pipeline [Reuters]

Republicans make ‘urgent case’ for TransCanada’s Keystone [Globe and Mail]

Republicans press Obama to approve oil sands pipeline [Postmedia News]

Republicans make ‘urgent case’ for Canadian oil [CP]

Pembina: tough but fair regulations would drive oil sands regulation [Petroleum Economist]

Indigenous activists fight building massive pipelines from tar sands through US [alternet.org]

Enbridge pushes for political support of oil sands pipeline [Globe and Mail]

Alberta oil sands ‘greening’ good news for Ontario [Edmonton Journal]

Layton would slash oilsands subsidies [CBC]

Okla Commissioners to discuss Cushing oil suppply [COKO TV - Oklahoma City]

The Koch brothers come to Canada to promote their oil sands interests [rabble.ca]

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On Twitter at luizachsavage

 

Category: Today's Links

Can a defeated gov’t run a military campaign?

March 29, 2011
By Luiza Ch. Savage

From the outside looking in on Canadian politics, it seemed a bit alarming last week  to learn that a Canadian would take over the lead the NATO effort in Libya  just as  the Canadian government was falling live on C-SPAN.

However, there is a significant difference between the US and Canadian political systems. The Canadian government is made up of career civil servants to a much higher level than the US system — where political appointees reach much more deeply into the bureaucracy.

This story provides an interesting illustration of their expanded role during an election campaign:

While Hillary Clinton and foreign ministers from around the world will meet in London on Tuesday to discuss the military mission in Libya, Canada will be represented by a civil servant.

Because of the Canadian election campaign, Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon will campaign in his riding in western Quebec while the high-level conference outlines what kind of Libya they expect after international military intervention.

Morris Rosenberg, the deputy minister of foreign affairs, will carry Canada’s position at the high-level conference – in keeping with a Canadian tradition that sees civil-service officials, not politicians, attend international events during election campaigns. That tradition is a long-standing convention, though not a binding rule, and is also observed in Britain.

Rosenberg’s bio is here.

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On Twitter at luizachsavage

 

 

 

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