The Calgary Herald (Canada), January 31, 2009
by Mike Blanchfield
Some say it’s misguided for Canada to be focusing on Obama when it should be concentrating on Congress.”Even though Obama is still in that honeymoon phase and at the peak of his power, this is not one he can fix,’ said Colin Robertson, a Canada-U. S. trade expert at Carleton University.
“It underlines the requirement for us to be constantly lobbying Congress — the source of the problem,’ said Robertson, a former senior diplomat in Washington. ‘It’s another lesson in the difference between our systems, and a reminder of checks and balances and the separation of powers in the U. S. A.’
Robertson said the incident shows how Canada needs to mount a ‘permanent campaign’ at Congress that goes far beyond the offices of the prime minister and the president.