Love affair between Canada and President Obama appears to be coming to an end
Lyle Fisher OTTAWA (NEWS1130) | Friday, January 30th, 2009 7:20 am OTTAWA (NEWS1130) - The honeymoon appears to be over between Canada and newly elected U.S. President Barack Obama, as Obama's first foreign visit to Ottawa in February will likely focus on a protectionist bill now before Congress.

The $820 billion American economic stimulus package will have some strings attached.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation that includes a provision barring foreign iron and steel for infrastructure projects.

But Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that doesn’t mean Canadian auto sector jobs will disappear.

“The premier of Ontario and myself made it clear that we are working together and working with our colleagues, in both the outgoing and now the incoming administration, to ensure we are on the same page in terms of helping the auto sector and to ensure that we bring our share of any restructuring package to the table and to preserve those jobs in Canada.”

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement says he expects the United States to live up to its treaty obligations of open and fair trade as outlined in NAFTA.


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