If Donald Trump deploys the big bomb during upcoming NAFTA negotiations, and threatens to blow up the continental trade agreement, a unit within the office of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will be assigned to try disarming it.
The Canadian government has created an election-style nerve centre to handle White House-related challenges and officials describing it say it has about eight regular staff: two former trade officials, two senior PMO officials, an ambassador, a writer, a cabinet minister, and it91裸聊视频檚 run by a young staffer with a reputation for staying cool while smothering political fires.
The most blistering inferno it91裸聊视频檚 preparing to confront is a scenario where the president threatens NAFTA. Everybody involved anticipates the threat level from Trump will rise with the heat of negotiations.
A well-connected Washington lobbyist milling about last week91裸聊视频檚 talks said a Trump pullout threat is virtually assured: 91裸聊视频淎lmost 100 per cent.91裸聊视频� Trade lawyer Dan Ujczo said it91裸聊视频檚 a logical play for the president: 91裸聊视频漈he threat of withdrawal is his key negotiating leverage.91裸聊视频�
One former U.S. trade official says the president has shown himself all too eager to play his best card. In fact, he says the president has weakened his hand by trying it too early. Trump threatened to blow up NAFTA in April, four months before the parties arrived at the negotiating table.
Robert Holleyman called that a tactical error as Canada and Mexico got a valuable heads up on what would happen next: the business community panicked, lawmakers were miffed, and Washington made clear it preferred saving NAFTA.
91裸聊视频滻t was, at a minimum, terrible timing,91裸聊视频� said Holleyman, Barack Obama91裸聊视频檚 deputy United States Trade Representative.
91裸聊视频漎ou do that at the 11th hour in the negotiation 91裸聊视频� not at the throat-clearing stage91裸聊视频� I suspect President Trump will be unable to play that card again. And if he does play it, it won91裸聊视频檛 be as strong as it would91裸聊视频檝e been91裸聊视频� The Canadians and Mexicans will say, 91裸聊视频榊ou91裸聊视频� will face a huge backlash in your own Congress.91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频�
That backlash would leave a messy, uncertain scenario in the wake of a NAFTA cancellation. If the U.S. Congress refused to undo the law implementing NAFTA, the treaty would be left in legal limbo pending possible court fights.
The mission of that PMO unit: prevent things from getting there.
The Canada-U.S. unit resembles a campaign war room in several ways, though its members hate the term. It gathers data on key constituencies 91裸聊视频� for instance, it collects American politicians91裸聊视频� opinions on issues and plugs them into a database.
It conducts outreach. It co-ordinates rapid response.
All the relationship-building of recent months where ministers criss-crossed the U.S. for hundreds of meetings would suddenly be deployed in the event of a crisis. For example: Should Trump try ending NAFTA, instructions might quickly go out to Canadian minister X to call U.S. state governor Y to lobby friendly Washington official Z.
That order would come from the centre.
The idea for a dedicated unit came before Trump91裸聊视频檚 inauguration, from PMO officials Gerald Butts and Katie Telford, longtime Ontario provincial political officials who had used the approach before on top issues.
91裸聊视频漈his is the unit that spends 365 days a year, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, thinking about this 91裸聊视频� trying to anticipate every possibility,91裸聊视频� said one official.
91裸聊视频漈he U.S. file is91裸聊视频� so super-hot that you can take the slightest thing and turn it into a huge story that91裸聊视频檚 in every newspaper in North America. It91裸聊视频檚 really important to have the right person (handling it).91裸聊视频�
Enter Brian Clow.
He was chief of staff to Chrystia Freeland when she was trade minister, but that91裸聊视频檚 not the principal reason he was brought in. What senior officials liked most was his penchant for staying cool, and working fast, in the Liberal election war room in 2015.
Clow would not speak for this story.
But someone who trained him in working war rooms was happy to share thoughts about him and the job. Clow learned from Warren Kinsella, who brought the modern election war room to Canada in 1993, inspired by the Bill Clinton campaign91裸聊视频檚 rapid-response approach to the new 24-hour cable TV cycle.
Kinsella demands three attributes from staff: Keep your mouth shut about the war room. Work fast. Do thorough research. He was impressed with Clow91裸聊视频檚 speed, cool, and ability to pump out video content while working on the 2007 and 2011 Ontario Liberal campaigns.
Author of, 91裸聊视频滽icking Ass In Canadian Politics,91裸聊视频� Kinsella says the Trump project is infinitely harder.
Kinsella jokes that all he does in elections is pull pins from grenades and lob them. Now Clow must prevent explosions 91裸聊视频� all while working with thousands of officials, multiple government departments, industry groups, two countries, one global economic superpower, and an unpredictable president.
91裸聊视频漈hey can91裸聊视频檛 declare war on Trump,91裸聊视频� Kinsella said.
91裸聊视频滻n this situation you can91裸聊视频檛 throw hand grenades 91裸聊视频� we91裸聊视频檙e David, they91裸聊视频檙e Goliath.91裸聊视频�
A war room also provides one central hub, so different offices are in contact and don91裸聊视频檛 contradict each other. The Canada-U.S. unit includes the PMO91裸聊视频檚 Butts and Telford, Freeland from Foreign Affairs, ambassador David MacNaughton from Washington, and writer Michael Den Tandt.
They got to conduct early test runs.
They handled the response when Trump complained about Canadian dairy and lumber, and when he threatened a NAFTA pullout. The Canadian side kept the temperature down; it responded to heated rhetoric with statistics and telephone calls, and things quickly cooled down.
Their work made an appearance at last week91裸聊视频檚 NAFTA negotiations.
When the U.S. government launched the talks with a complaint about Canada91裸聊视频檚 historic trade surpluses, Canadian officials stood in the nearby lobby of a Washington hotel and started handing out fact sheets showing a trade deficit.
That tactic brings back memories for Kinsella: 91裸聊视频漌e used to call those 91裸聊视频榟eat sheets,91裸聊视频� he said. He91裸聊视频檇 have his team slip sheets under hotel-room doors while reporters were sleeping, hoping to shape the next morning91裸聊视频檚 coverage.
91裸聊视频漎ou build an incremental case,91裸聊视频� Kinsella said.
91裸聊视频漈hat91裸聊视频檚 how you win a campaign.91裸聊视频�
Alexander Panetta, The Canadian Press
