Posts Tagged ‘Halifax’

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 |

Halifax International Security Forum – Halifax, November 5-7, 2010

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

This year’s Second Annual Halifax Security Forum was  a great event last year and it  was even better this year.

The moving force behind the event is Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay.  Minister MacKay and the German Marshall Fund — which is the sponsor — have assembled over 500 people from 44 countries to discuss global security issues ranging from how to protect against terrorism, to how to deal with problems of nuclear proliferation in Iran and elsewhere around the world, to the cyber security threat.  The tradition is to have a modicum of speechmaking and to have a series of panel discussions with questions from the audience.  I have learned a lot.

Many U.S. government officials are here, including: Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy, Commander of NORAD and Northcom Admiral James Winnefeld, and a Congressional Delegation including Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Barbara Mikulski, Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Udall, and Jeff Sessions.

It was very windy and stormy  in Halifax.  Not exactly Chamber of Commerce weather.  Because of the storms, the Congressional Delegation and Secretary Napolitano had to be diverted to Bangor, Maine where they spent the night.  But because they really wanted to attend they came here early on Saturday morning. Several of them spoke during the panels.

In addition — as is the tradition at events where leaders gather — there are “bilats at the margins” or in plain English, small private meetings between leaders from different countries.  We had several among a variety of members of the U.S. delegation and our Canadian hosts.  Particularly Minister MacKay.

We also went off to a panel arranged by my predecessor, Ambassador Gordon Giffin, Scotty Greenwood, and Colin Robertson of the Canadian American Business Council with Senator Shaheen to discuss issues of Canadian and American cooperation on energy and the environment.

DJ

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Posted in November 2010 |

November 7, 2010 — Toronto

Monday, November 8th, 2010

Great day. Flew from Halifax to Toronto and saw my Chicago Bears beat the Buffalo Bills 22-19. The Bills were, however, 0-7 coming into the game. So I’m not sure the Bears are exactly in Super Bowl form quite yet.

DJ

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Posted in November 2010 |

June 30 – Halifax

Tuesday, July 6th, 2010

Like most everyone else, since I was a child I have read about Queen Elizabeth. There was always a touch of storybook to the narrative. I guess that’s what made it so special. So, it was pretty exciting to be in Halifax for the celebration of the Canadian Navy’s 100th Anniversary and to participate in the Queen’s Fleet review.

On Monday we were there for the Queen’s arrival at the Garrison Grounds. If you watched it on TV you know that it was REALLY raining. We were under a tent. But – to tell you the truth – it didn’t give too much protection. Just as the Queen and Prince Philip arrived, the rain let up. I was sitting next to Admiral Mark Stanhope, the First Sea Lord of the British Navy. I explained to him that I had been with President Obama in Toronto the day before in an equally strong downpour. But unlike the Queen, he was not able to get it to stop. I guess she has a few extra years of practice.

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Ambassador Jacobson with the USS Wasp Marine and Navy Crew

It was quite a thrill to see the Queen and Prince Philip – along with the Governor General, the Prime Minister and so many others – at the Garrison Grounds and then at several events thereafter.

On Tuesday, the big highlight was the Fleet Review itself. Julie and I were aboard the USS Wasp. The two original ships Commissioned for the U.S. Navy by the Continental Congress in 1776 were the Wasp and the Hornet. The Wasp that we were on is the 10th USS Wasp. (The 7th USS Wasp,which fought in the Battle of the Solomon Islands in the Pacific during WW II, was sunk by a Japanese torpedo in 1942.) It is a massive ship. As the Queen passed by on board the HMCS St. John’s, the sailors on the Wasp, including Admiral Gary Roughead, the U.S. Chief of Naval Operations, manned the rail and saluted. I never thought I’d see anything quite like that.

Ambassador Jacobson on the 10th USS Wasp in Halifax

Ambassador Jacobson on the 10th USS Wasp in Halifax

But there was more. On Wednesday we celebrated the 4th of July four days early with 1000 people about the Wasp. It was great fun with Vice Admiral Mel Williams, Jr., the Commander of the U.S. Second Fleet, Premier Darrell Dexter, Halifax Mayor Peter Kelly, and so many others.

U.S. Naval Attaché Stephen Jordon, CNO Admiral Gray Roughead, Canadian Naval Attaché to the US Captain Richard Bergeron and Ambassador Jacobson aboard the Wasp

U.S. Naval Attaché Stephen Jordon, CNO Admiral Gray Roughead, Canadian Naval Attaché to the U.S. Captain Richard Bergeron and Ambassador Jacobson aboard the Wasp

It turns out it was fitting to celebrate the 4th of July four days early. The Declaration of Independence is famously dated “July 4, 1776.” But as a young schoolboy I learned that it was not actually read to the public until four days later on July 8 in the yard in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia. I was always troubled by the fact that the American people had lost four days of independence that they would never get back. So the 1000 people on the Wasp helped me to recover those days and to get the American political universe back into sync.

My trip to Halifax is one I will not soon forget.
DJ

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Posted in June 2010 |

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 |