XPost: can.politics, bc.politics, mtl.general   
   From: Panca@nyet.ca   
      
   Look at this sentence:  'Ottawa is considering using the Foreign   
   Extraterritorial Measures Act (FEMA) to prohibit suppliers from bowing to a   
   foreign law on Canadian soil.'   
      
   What a bloody joke on the Harper government and all Canadians . . . .  Harper   
   collaborated with the U.S. in its incarcerations and extraditions of Maher Arar   
   and then Omar Kadhr.   
   Harper collaborated with the U.S. on US missile testing on the east coast of   
   Canada.  Harper joined the U.S. in its assault on Afghanistan and Iraq / Syria.   
     Harper collaborated with the FBI in the extradition of Marc Emery for selling   
   marijuana seeds.  And now Harper wants to stop the U.S. from using US steel   
   exclusively in rebuild of a ferry terminal in Prince Rupert, BC ?!   
      
   Hey, tough guy . . .  you sold us out so many times to the mighty U.S. of A.   
   that the Americans think you're one of THEIR minions - not a Canadian Prime   
   Minister.   
   Pardon me if I can understand their confusion.   
   __________________________________________________________   
   December 14, 2014 - Globe and Mail   
      
   Ottawa threatens to block Buy America rules in Canada   
      
      
   Invoking rarely used anti-sanction law would further strain tensions between   
   the Conservative government and U.S. President Barack Obama   
      
   The federal government is threatening to invoke a rarely used anti-sanctions   
   law to block the U.S. from imposing Buy America rules in Canada.   
      
   Outraged that Washington has banned Canadian steel from a ferry terminal   
   overhaul in Prince Rupert, B.C., Ottawa is considering using the Foreign   
   Extraterritorial Measures Act (FEMA) to prohibit suppliers from bowing to a   
   foreign law on Canadian soil, according to industry sources.   
      
   Canada has used the law just once – in 1992 – after the U.S. moved to   
   tighten   
   its trade embargo on Cuba by punishing companies and individuals doing business   
   there, including Canadians.   
      
   Invoking the law again would further strain tensions between the Conservative   
   government and U.S. President Barack Obama, who are already at odds over issues   
   such as the Keystone XL   
   oil pipeline, climate-change policies and U.S. meat labelling laws.   
      
   This latest dispute was triggered when the Alaska ferry service announced plans   
   recently to rebuild a terminal it leases from a Canadian government port   
   authority in Prince Rupert, 750 kilometres north of Vancouver.  Much of the   
   money for the $10-million to $20-million (U.S.) project is coming from the U.S.   
   Federal Highway Administration, which routinely imposes strict Buy America   
   rules on everything it funds.   
      
   Ottawa has asked the Obama administration to waive Buy America rules in this   
   case, pointing out that the work will be done in Canada on Canadian Crown land.   
     So far, those efforts have proved fruitless.   
      
   Asked about invoking FEMA, a spokesman for Trade Minister Ed Fast would say   
   only that the government is continuing to look at "all" options.   
      
   "The application of these protectionist trade restrictions on projects on   
   Canadian soil by a foreign government is unreasonable," said Max Moncaster, Mr.   
   Fast's press secretary.  "We are exploring all options to address this   
   situation."   
      
   He added that Canadian officials have raised the matter with U.S. officials,   
   both in Washington and in Alaska.   
      
   FEMA would give Justice Minister Peter MacKay, Canada's Attorney-General, the   
   power to issue an order prohibiting suppliers on the terminal project from   
   complying with Buy America. Violators could be fined for non-compliance.   
      
   A spokeswoman for Mr. MacKay declined to comment.   
      
   "It is a possible avenue and one that should be explored," said Toronto trade   
   lawyer Lawrence Herman of Herman and Associates.   
      
   Mr. Herman pointed out that Buy America rules were never intended to apply   
   outside the U.S.   "These are very unusual circumstances," he said.   
      
   Complicating matters, the Alaska government has already published detailed   
   tendering documents, making it clear that Buy America rules will be enforced on   
   the project.   
   Under the rules, only U.S. iron and steel can be used for the project, which   
   involves building a new pier and replacing a terminal building.   
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   Officials in Alaska acknowledged ongoing "conversations" between Ottawa and the   
   Alaska and U.S. federal governments to resolve the dispute.  But the project is   
   going ahead, insisted Jeremy Woodrow of the Alaska Department of Transportation   
   and Public Facilities.   
      
   "I don't know where those conversations are going and whether any revisions can   
   be made to that contract, especially since the proposal is already out," he   
   said. "It's still moving forward as planned."   
      
   A proliferation of protectionist purchasing rules, including Buy America, has   
   become a thorn for Canadian companies doing business in the U.S.  The firms   
   regularly sell products that have both Canadian and U.S. content. Raw steel,   
   for example, is often made in one country and fabricated into beams and other   
   final products in the other.   
      
   The latest source of concern is New Jersey, where the state legislature is   
   slated to vote Thursday on a bill that would block Canadian and other foreign   
   companies from bidding on state procurement.   
      
   Canadian manufacturers have been pushing Ottawa, the provinces and   
   municipalities to retaliate with more stringent "Buy Canadian" rules in this   
   country – a move Ottawa has so far declined to endorse.   
      
   "It is time for all levels of governments in Canada to introduce reciprocal   
   policies to level the playing field for Canadian manufacturers and exporters,"   
   said Jayson Myers, president and chief executive of the Canadian Manufacturers   
   and Exporters, which speaks for more than 10,000 companies.   
      
   The CME has warned that protectionist purchasing rules will cost Canadian jobs   
   and exports unless the two sides reach a comprehensive deal to open up each   
   other's government procurement markets.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)