Growing up as a youth, I often supplemented my allowance by doing odd jobs for my neighbours, like mowing lawns or shoveling driveways during the winter months.
I remember one particular weekend when I had made arrangements to mow about six different lawns on the same day. It proved to be a scorcher and I decided to put off mowing until another, cooler, day when I was more in the mood for the task.That was the day my father took me aside and talked to me about responsibility, reputation and how to live life as best as possible as a man of honour. He also revealed to me the cardinal rule of "a deal's a deal." If you make a deal with someone in good faith, you have to honour it no matter the cost. And, he continued, that went double if it was a good neighbour, like those whose lawns I had agreed to mow - and eventually did.
Last Wednesday, our good neighbours to the south decided that a deal they struck with Canada wasn't worth honouring.
A last-ditch appeals panel rejected Washington's assertions that an earlier string of rulings in favour of Canada broke trade rules. NAFTA panels have three times concluded that the U.S. failed to prove that Canadian softwood lumber poses a material threat of injury to American producers. Under trade rules, Washington was supposed to be obliged to scrap the duties on imports of Canadian lumber and refund about $5 billion in levies collected since 2002.
But, the U.S. government, citing legal technicalities, stated that under American trade law it is not obliged to honour the NAFTA rulings. In essence, the American government is saying "Yeah, we made an agreement, but we're just deciding not to hold up our end of the bargain." And people wonder about anti-American sentiment in Canada. Here in Squamish, probably better than anywhere in Canada, do people understand the real human and family costs of these decisions.
So, too, do the Liberals, apparently, as they are now talking about imposing $5 billion worth of duties on American products such as California wine and they cancelled a new round of softwood lumber negotiations.
I say that's a good start. But, it may be time to re-evaluate the entire NAFTA deal. If the Americans will not abide by it, and the rule of law established in part by themselves, then maybe the whole agreement is void. Maybe all agreements with the US have to be re-examined in light of their cavalier attitude to law and trust.
The U.S. has a responsibility to live up to its agreements, no matter the cost. Their reputation, which has been steadily tarnishing in the eyes of Canadians, is on the line.
It is time for them to be a nation of honour.
