Posts Tagged ‘New Brunswick’

July 12, 2011: Halifax

Friday, July 15th, 2011

I just finished attending the 35th Annual New England Governors and Eastern Premiers Conference in Halifax. It was a great opportunity to discuss the regional issues that confront the leaders of our states and provinces. In addition to the Premiers and Governors, Ambassador Doer and I were invited to participate along with the U.S. Consul General from Halifax and the Canadian Consul General from Boston.

I arrived on Saturday night from Calgary. Having a free night in Halifax I did what any self-respecting Chicagoan would do. I went out for a lobster supper at Salty’s. Highly recommended.

On Sunday, before the meeting started, I played a round of golf with Nova Scotia Premier Darrell Dexter, Ambassador Doer, and new Member of Parliament — but long-time political figure in Nova Scotia — Robert Chisholm. The weather was beautiful. The course magnificent. And you will all be happy to know that – judging by our golf games on Sunday – none of us can be accused of not spending enough time in the office.

After golf I had a chance to meet with New Brunswick Premier David Alward. We shared a few laughs, and talked about issues ranging from border security to the best fishing locations in New Brunswick.

Ambassador Jacobson and New Brunswick Premier David Alward

Then it was off to dinner with the Premiers, and Governors, several of their spouses, Ambassador Doer and the Consuls General at the Halifax Club, which dates back to 1862.

There is at least one part of these meetings that reminds me of an out-of-town weekend wedding. While the topics of conversation are quite a bit different, in the same way as at weddings, the group tends to coalesce as the days go by. People who were casual acquaintances – or totally unfamiliar – become friends. It is easy to forget that high level government officials are people. (Or at least, generally.) When you are able to establish a personal bond it is so much easier to conduct business and to solve problems later on. To me, this is one of the most important parts of these events.

On Monday we started early and ended late. There were a series of presentations including Managing the new Fiscal Reality, Enhancing the Trade Relationship, Maximizing the Potential of Each Region’s Energy Resources, Confronting our Environmental Challenges and an Update on the Lower Churchill Development.

After some press interviews, we bussed out to the Dauphinee Inn which is a beautiful place on the South Shore of Nova Scotia about 30 mins from Halifax. I told Premier Dexter I was tempted to move there.

The South Shore of Nova Scotia

We then went to the Shore Club for yet another lobster dinner and some good Nova Scotia music.

On Tuesday I gave a speech on the Beyond the Border Vision to a big lunch crowd from the Halifax Chamber of Commerce. Then, after a week on the road, I flew home and fell promptly to sleep.

One last point: I often talk about the value of competition (I used to do antitrust litigation). So I want to give a shout-out to one of my new competitors in the Ottawa diplomatic blog world. The High Commissioner from the United Kingdom, Andrew Pocock, has launched his new blog with his description of our Arctic Trip. Andrew is much wittier that I am. So I will have to up my game to keep pace. Check him out at http://blogs.fco.gov.uk/roller/pocock/.

DJ

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Posted in July 2011 |

January 8, 2010 – St. Stephen, New Brunswick

Monday, January 11th, 2010

I got up early today to come back to St. Stephen, New Brunswick for the grand opening of the new border crossing station there. I was here in November for the opening of the new facility on the other side of the bridge in Calais, Maine. This is the busiest border crossing point between New England and Atlantic Canada. Some things are worth doing. Some things are worth doing twice.

Travel to and from the United States has received a lot of attention lately. As you know, on Christmas Day, a terrorist tried to blow up an airplane with almost 300 people on board.

President Obama has been upfront that there was a systemic failure on our part. He has directed a number of immediate actions for our intelligence services and to improve aviation screening and security. But as the President has said, even the best intelligence can’t identify in advance every individual who would do us harm. It’s going to take partnerships, between nations, between law enforcement agencies, and even between travelers and the security forces in order to achieve the proper balance between security and efficiency.

That attempted attack has rekindled that debate and I thought about it as I again visited this new state-of-the-art facility.

If we are smart – If we are efficient – If we invest in infrastructure and technology – we can have more security and more efficiency.

Canada and the United States have made, and will continue to make, huge investments in our border infrastructure, much of which dates back to before World War II. But a lot has changed since then. Much of the old infrastructure is inadequate for today’s needs. Calais and St. Stephen – with these twin state-of-the-art facilities – should be the model. The model for a border system that allows the legitimate transit of people and goods while insuring the safety of the people from both of our countries.

And we should make those state–of-the-art facilities green like Calais-St. Stephen.

I have visited a number of border crossings as I have traveled across Canada. I have met with folks from the United States CBP and the Canadian CBSA and stood next to them as they did their jobs.

I have never failed to be impressed by their effort, by their dedication, by their professionalism. Often under difficult circumstances.

Congratulations everyone involved on the opening of this great new facility.

DJ

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Posted in January 2010 |

November 23, 2009 – Fredericton, New Brunswick

Tuesday, November 24th, 2009

Well, I asked for it. Yesterday and today we drove 1200 KM around Atlantic Canada. We started in Halifax, drove to Charlottetown on P.E.I., drove to Fredericton in New Brunswick, drove to Calais, Maine, and then drove back to Fredericton. I have definitely seen a lot of the Atlantic Provinces on the ground. While my staff may be ready to kill me, I had a blast and I got a good – if a little hectic – sense of the place.

Last night the U.S. Consul General and I had dinner with Premier Shawn Graham and his wife Roxanne. Roxanne lived in Japan for 9 years. She made us a GREAT Japanese dinner. I kept thinking of my friend John Roos who is the U.S. Ambassador to Japan. If he’s eating like this every night he will come home weighing 300 pounds. We had a good discussion about the Hydro-Quebec/New Brunswick Power deal. I have now heard about it from the perspectives of the Premiers of Quebec, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland and Labrador. Premier Graham and I also discussed the long running disagreement between the U.S. and Canada about the right of passage through Head Harbor for tankers at a proposed LNG facility in Passamaquoddy Bay, Maine. Lively night.

The Ambassador at dinner with Premier Graham of New Brunswick and his wife Roxanne Reeves

The Ambassador at dinner with Premier Graham of New Brunswick and his wife Roxanne Reeves


This morning we got up early to drive to Calais, Maine, for the dedication of a new state of the art border crossing facility which has been under discussion since the 1970s. The drive was magnificent. Rolling hills. Fast moving rivers. And millions of beautiful pine trees that were covered in frost. It looked like the front of a Christmas card.

Among the people who attended the dedication at Calais were Senator Collins and Congressman Michaud. As I said in my remarks, I do not believe we have to make the false choice between border security and convenience. If we are smart, if our two countries cooperate, and if we invest in the necessary infrastructure, we can have both.

Many of the border facilities predate World War II. For example, the two existing crossings between Calais, Maine and St. Stephen, New Brunswick were built early in the 20th century. Those old facilities are simply not designed to deal with the challenges we face today. Investments in infrastructure and technology on both sides of the boarder – like the new facility at Calais – are what we need in order to protect our countries without impeding the free flow of law abiding people and safe goods.

Ambassador Jacobson at the ribbon cutting for the new border crossing in Calais, Maine

Ambassador Jacobson at the ribbon cutting for the new border crossing in Calais, Maine


I also can’t let pass the opportunity to give praise to Emily Ginn. She is a Junior at Calais High School and she gave a stirring a cappella rendition of the Star Spangled Banner.

While we were at the border, we had a chance to stop by the Ganong Brothers Chocolate Factory in St. Stephen. I loaded up with their signature ‘chicken bones’ and more than my share of chocolate creams. Thanksgiving is starting early for me.

Ambassador Jacobson at the the Ganong Chocolate Factory Store in St. Stephen, New Brunswick

Ambassador Jacobson at the the Ganong Chocolate Factory Store in St. Stephen, New Brunswick


After we returned to Fredericton we were treated to a private tour of the New Brunswick Legislative Assembly Building. And we had a chance to meet the Speaker, Hon. Roy Boudreau. There was a special moment when we arrived. Flying on the flagpole in front of the building was the Stars and Stripes! I was moved by this kind gesture toward my country.

Then it was off to meet with the new Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick, Gaydon Nicholas. He was the first Aboriginal person to receive a law degree in Atlantic Canada, graduating in 1971. Prior to his appointment, he served for 18 years as a provincial judge. We had an interesting discussion of the challenges as well as the opportunities that confront First Nations and aboriginal people in Canada. We also talked about cooperation between communities in Canada and the U.S.

I am now off to Washington, D.C. to meet with U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Canadian Minister of Public Safety Peter Van Loan to talk about cooperative efforts in securing North America.

Fortunately, I’m not going to Washington by car!!!
DJ

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Posted in November 2009 |

November 22, 2009 – Atlantic Canada

Monday, November 23rd, 2009

The last three days have been very busy traversing the Atlantic Provinces. On Thursday after a meeting at the Newfoundland Department of Natural Resources we spent the morning taking a tour of St. John’s. The highlight was Signal Hill which is the place where Marconi received the first wireless signal from Europe. While that’s pretty special, the thing that I will remember most about the place is how windy it was. I come from the Windy City and I have never seen anything quite like Signal Hill. I took some pictures of the beautiful scenery but I could barely stand up and it was impossible to keep the camera steady.

The Consul General , Anton Smith and I had lunch with Mayor Dennis O’Keefe and a group of civic leaders from St. John’s where we discussed energy, local politics and local history.

Ambassador Jacobson with Mayor Dennis O'Keefe of St. John's, Newfoundland

Ambassador Jacobson with Mayor Dennis O'Keefe of St. John's, Newfoundland


Afterward we flew from St. John’s to Halifax for a major international security conference put on by the German Marshall Fund of the United States. But before we left the airport in Halifax we got a tour of the U.S. border preclearance facilities which make it much easier for travelers from both the United States and Canada to fly across the border.

In preparation for the conference, a large number of political and military leaders were streaming in to Halifax from around the world. One of them was U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates. I met him at the foot of his plane. It was a thrill to see a big blue and white plane pull up that says “United States of America” across the fuselage.

On Friday morning I attended a meeting between Secretary Gates and his Canadian counterpart, Defense Minister Peter MacKay at the Citadel in Halifax. It was explained to us that the Citadel, which was built in 1749 ended up costing twice its budget. And by the time it was completed, military technology had advanced to the point where it was indefensible. All of the senior military figures in attendance got a kick out of that one.

After the meeting we all headed for the opening of the International Security Forum and speeches by both Minister MacKay and Secretary Gates. Then we launched in to two days of panel discussions on a range of security topics ranging from pirates to the Arctic to the role of law in international affairs. One particularly interesting panel was about the way forward in Afghanistan with Senator John McCain, (Ret’d) Gen. Rick Hillier, Najam Sethi, the editor of the Pakistani newspaper “The Daily Times”, and Michael Semple of Harvard who has lived and worked in Afghanistan for many years. As I told Minister MacKay, I have been to many conferences over the years on a wide variety of topics. But the discussion of Afghanistan was about the best thing I had ever seen at any of them.

Ambassador Jacobson, Senator John McCain and Senator Mark Udall and staff

Ambassador Jacobson, Senator John McCain and Senator Mark Udall and staff


I ducked out of one session to meet with Darrell Dexter the Premier of Nova Scotia. We had a great conversation about energy (he had just returned from a meeting with the Atlantic Premiers in Churchill Falls where they had talked about the Hydro Quebec/New Brunswick Power deal) and our respective backgrounds. It turns out we are both the first in our families to graduate from college and both of our fathers had similar jobs. The Premier’s father was a sheet metal worker. My father made medicine cabinets out of sheet metal.
Ambassador Jacobson in New Brunswick with the Confederation Bridge to PEI in the background

Ambassador Jacobson in New Brunswick with the Confederation Bridge to PEI in the background


On Sunday morning we got an early start and drove from Halifax to Charlottetown. This gave me a chance to see the Confederation Bridge (Charlottetown is the “Cradle of Canadian Confederation”) which stretches for 8 miles from New Brunswick to PEI. We spent some time driving around the rolling hills of the PEI countryside (reminds me of Iowa) and then had lunch in Charlottetown. We are now in the car driving back across the Confederation Bridge on our way to Fredericton to have dinner with New Brunswick Premier Shawn Graham.
DJ

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Posted in November 2009 |