What U.S. Congress thinks of Canada
In a new report co-authored by Simon Fraser University political science professor Alex Moens and issued by the Fraser Institute, the U.S. Congress rates Canada high on energy exports, foreign affairs and environmental management.
But American senators and members of the House of Representatives give their neighbours to the north a thumbs down on border security, free trade and health care.
Moens, a senior fellow at the Fraser Institute, a Canadian public policy think-tank, says the findings in What Congress Thinks of Canada “should be of interest to Canadians and Americans alike. Improved cooperation is the key to North American prosperity and security and this study is based on that premise.”
The new report analyzes transcribed congressional debates between 2001 and 2010, where the focus of discussion was Canada or Canadian policy.
While Canada’s capacity for energy production and record of environmental management impressed American legislators the country’s border security was deemed to be lax about terrorism. Some legislators continue to believe Canada was the source of some of the 9/11 hijackers, while others view Canada as a source of illicit narcotics.
“When discussing border security, American politicians tend most often to speak of the Canadian and Mexican borders in roughly the same manner,” says Moens. “Their concern about the threat of terrorists staging attacks from Canada remains high.”
When it comes to free trade, if American access to cheaper prescription drugs were taken away, support for free trade drops significantly among both Democrats and Republicans.
In the area of foreign affairs, politicians on both sides of Congress praised overwhelmingly Canada’s contributions to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), continental defence and commitment to securing Afghanistan.
But American legislators do not consider Canada’s, universal-access health care system to be an ideal prototype for the United States.
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Max Bork
"a thumbs down on border security, free trade and health care." What exactly is the U.S. Congress basing this on? Where are they getting their information from?