“Keep borders open,” urges the PM
Prime Minister Stephen Harper cautioned against a global trend of “creeping protectionism” in matters of national purchasing policies. Citing the “Buy American” measures of U.S. President Barack Obama, Harper urged governments “to keep borders open internationally” in an effort to “ensure a global recovery” from the economic downturn. Though Harper did not single out the United States, Trade Minister Stockwell Day, speaking in Ottawa, called for continued pressure on different levels of the U.S. government: “I’m hoping that our colleagues at the congressional level will understand that if they really want to protect their workers and their jobs, the way to do that is to open up doors of opportunity, not close them.”