President Obama's veto of the Keystone XL pipeline bill is nothing less than a devastating indictment of Stephen Harper's foreign policy.
Despite the imperative that Canada diversify our access to foreign markets, no relationship is or ever will be more important to this country's fortunes than the one it has with the US, and most of all, the White House.
But the weight of Harper's ambition and ego brought that historic relationship to its knees, and with it, the prime minister's own defining economic and foreign policy objectives.
Canada's leadership lost its credibility and moral suasion at the White House by being drawn into the poisonous scorpion's nest of DC politics. No foreign leader, but especially not the Canadian prime minister, can afford to be seen to meddle in American domestic affairs.
Stephen Harper managed to do it.
Indeed, its hard to imagine a more disastrous economic and foreign policy strategy than the one adopted by this prime minister. As Barack Obama entered the final period of his presidency, the indications were clear that climate change would become a pillar of his administration. John Kerry, well-known as a strong environmentalist, is Secretary of State, and holds the portfolio responsible for the Keystone decision.
READ MORE: http://www.vancouverobserver.com/opinion/how-harpers-disastrous-diplomacy-crushed-keystone-xl
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