The following is an excerpt. To view the full article please visit the link below
Trade obsessions and 'hobbyist', 'cosmetic' diplomacy defined Canada before Sept. 11, 2001. Five years later, it's hard to tell what's really changed.
What a Difference Five Years Can Make...or Not
The day before terrorists hijacked four planes and flew them into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a farmer's field in Pennsylvania, then-International Trade minister Pierre Pettigrew held a press conference at the Canadian embassy in Washington.
The topic during that meeting with reporters on Sept. 10, 2001 was softwood lumber, a dispute that not only continues to this day and represents for many a divide between Canadian-U.S. relations, …
* * *