Posted on 08/15/2003 6:08:05 PM PDT by Kaslin
WASHINGTON (AP) - The last thing the United States and Canada needed was another feud.
The fast round of finger-pointing over what caused the great power blackout was the latest flare-up in a long string of quarrels, snubs, insults and disagreements over everything from the U.S.-led war in Iraq to Canada's moves to legalize same-sex marriage and small amounts of marijuana.
"Have you ever seen the United States take the blame for anything?" fumed Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman after Canadian and U.S. officials blamed problems in each other's country for the massive loss of electrical power that was the worst in U.S. history. Investigators were still trying to pinpoint the cause Friday.
Like bickering next-door neighbors, the United States and Canada frequently seem at odds even though they share the world's longest undefended border and biggest trade partnership.
While it's not uncommon for countries to argue over trade and politics, President Bush and Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien seem to have exceptionally prickly personal relations.
"It sure isn't working," Charles O. Jones, University of Wisconsin professor emeritus, said of the relationship. Canadians are tired of the United States setting the agenda and expecting Canada to follow, Jones said. "We have taken them for granted and they seem to be mad and they're not going to take it anymore," he said.
On Friday, Bush called Chretien from Air Force One. But the 10-minute conversation was limited primarily to the blackout and a new joint task force between the two countries aimed at locating the outage's cause and preventing them in the future.
Some of the discord may simply be ideological differences between the conservative president and the liberal prime minister - although Bush and British Prime Minister Tony Blair seem to have overcome that problem. Bush has never brought Chretien to his Texas ranch or the presidential retreat at Camp David, Md. He reserves those coveted invitations for world leaders he considers friends or allies in tough fights, like Blair, Russia's Vladimir Putin and a select list of others.
Bush scrapped an announced visit to Canada in May, and it's doubtful he'll reschedule before Chretien leaves office in February. Some experts think U.S.-Canadian relations will warm when Chretien goes.
"Is Bush going to go to a hockey game in Quebec? I don't think so," said Canadian scholar Suzanne Buckley at Franklin Pierce College in New Hampshire. But she said the rocky state of the relationship can be overdramatized. "I wouldn't put them at the critical stage," she said. "There is a certain dislike of American policy, dismissing Canada, taking Canada for granted." Still, the two countries manage to conduct trade worth $1.4 billion a day.
Relations between the two leaders got off to a bad start when Bush chose Mexico instead of Canada as the first country he'd visit.
Then, more significantly, after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, Bush failed to thank Canada as he saluted other allies for their assistance. Canadians were angry because Canada accepted hundreds of planes diverted from the United States when terrorists attacked the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Problems continued when Chretien's communications director was quoted calling Bush a moron and Chretien failed to condemn her or accept her first resignation offer, although she did resign eventually.
The biggest blowup came when Chretien stood with France and Germany and refused to join the United States in the war on Iraq because it lacked U.N. authorization. After that, Bush canceled his Ottawa visit and a deep chill fell over the relationship.
Another flap arose when a U.S. bombing accident in Afghanistan killed four of Canada's soldiers and injured eight more in 2002. Bush was branded indifferent by grieving Canadians because he failed to publicly mention the loss during a series of public appearances that day. Bush later went before news cameras and apologized for the loss.
Tensions also have been exacerbated by trade issues, ranging from U.S. tariffs on softwood lumber imports from Canada to U.S. restrictions on Canadian meat products because of a lone case of mad cow disease.
"This is a relationship that takes a lot of care and attention," said Charles Doran, director of the Center for Canadian Studies at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advance International Studies. New security measures imposed after the terror attacks have created new problems.
"We're trying to do a lot of things together under pressure," Doran said. "There are a whole series of little pinpricks where governments tend to blame the other partner."
"Have you ever seen the United States take the blame for anything?" fumed Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman
Mayor Lastman has demonstrated his hot-head tendencies prior to this incident. He came publically unglued when the WHO extended the travel warning to Toronto during the SARS outbreaks last year.
Prairie
--snip--
In contrast to New York City and Ottawa, where mayors quickly appeared at press conferences to calm residents and provided regular updates, Toronto Mayor Mel Lastman was noticeably absent.
Lastman appeared only briefly at a press conference in a command center in northern Toronto.
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