[Canada]: Message to the United States

[Owen]

"Dear Secretary of State,

My name is Chrystia Freeland, I am the newly sworn in Minister of Foreign Affairs for Canada under Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. As our relationship is the most important one to both of our nations I wish to meet with you in Washington at a convenient time to discuss formalities and make sure we have a smooth transition from our former Government in terms of our relationship. This is important for the economy, the defence and the prosperity of North America.

Sincerely,
The Hon. Chrystia Freeland, MP,
Minister of Foreign Affairs."

@John

 

[Owen]

@John

 

[John]

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Encrypted​

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Recipient: Chrystia.Freeland@parl.gc.ca
Sender: JohnKerry@state.gov
Subject: RE: Relations

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Dear Minister Freeland,

Historically, the United States and Canada have been close allies and I am glad you have decided to contact me today in order to continue this close friendship. You are very welcome in Washington at a time that suits you, please let me know when you are on your way.

Kind Regards,
John Kerry,
Secretary of State of the United States of America

 

[Owen]

Chrystia would depart on a one and a half hour flight from Ottawa to Washington, D.C. with Air Canada and a detail of personnel. She would alert the Secretary of State to her arrival.

 

[Owen]

The Foreign Minister would arrive, the Canadian Embassy would send a car to pick her from Washington/Dulles and would drive her to the Harry S. Truman Building.

 

[John]

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the Director General for the Foreign Service, would meet the Minister at the Harry S. Truman Building. After the Minister and her entourage had passed security, they would be led to John Kerry's office, where he would be stood waiting.

 

[Owen]

The Minister would approach John Kerry, she would shake his hand. "Mr. Secretary it's a pleasure to meet you."

 

[John]

Secretary Kerry would extend his hand to shake the Minister, offering her a polite smile. "Minister Freeland, good to meet you. Please, take a seat" He would beckon to one of the sofas that are sat facing each other.

 

[Owen]

The Minister would take a seat on the sofa.

"Mr. Secretary, it's a pleasure to be here in Washington, D.C. on my first official trip overseas. This relationship is our most important one, we share the longest land border in the world and we are more than just friends, we are neighbours. We have a duty to make North America secure and prosperous, we truly do live in the best continent on the planet. From the Atlantic to the Pacific and everything in between, this land has endless natural beauty and abundant resources and cultures. I hope you can concur."

 

[John]

"I agree, historically we have been great friends and valuable trade partners. And yes, we do have a duty to make North America secure, with that in mind, do you have anything to suggest on how we go about this?"

 

[Owen]

"Well we would like to re-establish the Canada-United States Free Trade Agreement and also work towards the possibility of re-establishing NAFTA if we can get Mexico on board, alternatively we can bypass the bilateral agreement, go straight to getting NAFTA signed which would ultimately supersede the bilateral anyway. We have the potential to create the largest trading partnership in the world. We would also like to see NORAD re-established and for us to work together on creating lines of air defense radars for North America. There are also just other agreements and bodies which we could re-establish from previous governments; the International Joint Commission to resolve water boundary disputes and the Boundary Waters Treaty and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement which goes with that, the International Boundary Commission, the U.S.-Canada Air Quality Agreement, the Permanent Joint Board of Defense and the Canada-United States Regulatory Cooperation Council. Also there are a series of historical agreements from a long time ago that are still applicable, especially concerning disarmament and border disputes. We would also like to push ahead with the Keystone Pipeline. We see this as crucial to pipe crude oil from Canada to the United States to be refined there. Canada's main export is crude oil and yours is refined oil, this is a really good potential deal we have here and with a pipeline we can produce heaps."

 

[John]

"I believe that the people of the United States would be happy with these agreements, however I am not the one to sign them all. Trade agreements and the like I can, but on the topic of NORAD and the Permanent Joint Board of Defense, that would be down to the President and the Secretary of Defence" @Owen

 

[Owen]

"Understood, well please pass on that willingness to them. As for the agreements which you can sign, it's more so about re-establishing the relationship which we've previously held and to make sure environmental and border standards are upkept. We also need to make arrangements for citizens living in exclaves along our border, most particularly Point Roberts and Northwest Angle. We don't want to have to make U.S. citizens living in those areas subject to border controls every time they needed to cross into Canada for stuff like shopping, so we're thinking of introducing a residents card, subject to security clearances that they just need to flash that to border officers and they can enter freely. We would expect the same for Canadians living in areas such as Campobello Island and Akwesasne. Generally speaking, we would like to see a liberalisation of the border, but still maintaining a level of control. It's not particularly U.S. citizens we have to worry about but other illegal immigrants in the United States who would like to use it as a way of getting into Canada. Also on the topic of the border, with the establishment of the Boundary Commission we would expect that we work towards all current border disputes between us be put to rest and we resolve them peacefully.

As for the free trade agreement, we should really be talking to Mexico in a tri-nation summit about that to see if we can get them on board, it's a policy of our government to see NAFTA restored and also other tri-nation agreements. We sir, can make North America the most peaceful and prosperous continent on the planet. There are always tensions in Europe, tensions in Asia, god knows what in Africa. It's our duty to make the new world the peaceful world, a place where people can come and flee the conflicts of the old world."

 

[Owen]

@John

 

[John]

"Mexico is a quiet state, it would be pointless attempting to get them involved in the Free Trade Agreement, however, I still believe one can be signed between Canada and the US. As for your idea on the ID card to cross the border, I like it. However, given the recent history of Canada with the civil war and everything, it will take some time for the softening of the border"

 

[Owen]

"That's not all citizens, just those who are residing in places which are practically geographical exclaves of Canada or the U.S. However on the topic of the border, of course we will maintain border crossings, that's our policy. On the topic of visas though, we're granting all U.S. citizens the ability to go to Canada visa-free without an electronic travel authorisation. Only other people who get that privilege are Saint Pierre and Miquelon residents. U.S. permanent residents also have the ability to enter Canada visa-free regardless of their citizenship but would require an ETA if coming from air. We would like to see some reciprocation of the visa policy in the U.S. as well for Canadians. We should also discuss re-establishing U.S. border pre-clearances in Canada. Essentially stationing U.S. customs officials in major Canadian airports and railway stations so that passengers can be pre-screened before coming to the U.S."

 

[Owen]

@John

 

[John]

"Given the heightened security warning due to terrorism, I'm afraid we can't allow Visa-free travel. However, we are willing to offer cost free visas. Of course this will still need an application, it is just so we can screen people entering the country and make sure they are not a threat to us. I hope you can understand this."

 

[Owen]

"Well that's disappointing to hear. Especially since we not only allow U.S. Citizens visa free without an electronic travel authorisation, something only them and French residents of Saint Pierre and Miquelon get, but we allow U.S. Permanent Residents visa free access with an eTA, holding any passport. We have put enough trust in the U.S. security agencies to make sure they stop harmful citizens before they come into Canada and we would like it if you had the same expectations. This will be especially harmful to those in Campobello Island and Akwesasne who need to get through the U.S. to get to Canada. We're going to keep our current regime in place because we understand the impact it would make to people who need to cross the border regularly. We would like some reciprocation. You should implement an electronic travel authorisation regime like we have via air and just allow for border guards to check passports and screen people verbally at the land/ferry crossings. This is our regime and it allows for a quick process. We're not asking for indefinite travel either, we allow up to 6 months visa-free before they would need to apply for a Canadian visa."

 

[Owen]

@John