Canada-US relations forging ahead to strengthen bond: Ambassador
Canada’s trove of rare earth minerals is the new frontier of economic growth and security for this nation and the United States, Washington’s ambassador to Canada told a lunch crowd October 20.
And that’s good news, Ambassador David L. Cohen said, for Manitoba, which is seeing development of mining operations in the field of rare earths, the critical elements to electronics and the electrification of vehicles.
Snow Lake Lithium is developing a mine it says will be fully electric, powered by 100% renewable energy. It is an example, Cohen said, of the potential for Canada to become a leader in development and export of rare earths, which will assist the United States in achieving greater economic security – supplementing or replacing the import of minerals from markets much farther away.
The pandemic revealed the tenuous nature of the supply chain. The proximity to and long trading relationship with Canada is increasingly important to America in its bid to “build back better,” the ambassador told the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce luncheon.
This is not just in commodities but also in the provision of energy, such as the relationship between Manitoba Hydro and Minnesota’s Great River Energy. Energy exchanges north and south during peak seasons are the model other jurisdictions can replicate, and are symbolic of why the US considers Canada its “closest friend, partner and ally.”
Cohen spent a great deal of his address and in the question-and-answer session that followed outlining the benefits of the renegotiated NAFTA, now called the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement. The dispute resolution mechanism is a powerful backstop to the trade agreement because it serves as a platform for talking things out.
He stressed the importance of strong international ties among countries with similar, democratic interests, underscored by Russia’s war on Ukraine. Canada and the US, bound together by both NATO and NORAD, must work together to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
“Given renewed threats and challenges, we’re going to have to spend some money,” Cohen said, but noted the “payoff” is security of democratic values.
