Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough

Workin' It in Washington

Team Wilkins is in Washington, D.C., this week with Saskatchewan Premier Brad Wall as he prepares for the first-ever meeting between the Council of Federation (COF) and the National Governors' Association (NGA). 

Wall serves as chairman this year of the COF and in that capacity will take a lead role in directing the landmark discussions between Canada's premiers and US state governors. 

The NGA is considered extremely influential in the US, and it speaks most highly of the COF and Canada's importance and influence with US state leaders that such a meeting is taking place. 

High on the list of issues likely to be addressed are US protectionist and trade policies, energy and the environment, and the recent deal reached between Canada and the US on "Buy America." 

In an interview on CTV's Power Play, Wall described the meeting as "historic" when chatting with anchor Tonda MacCharles: 

"We will be meeting with the governors -- the National Governors' Association – and the premiers will meet together for the very first time.  We'll be talking about issues like energy and the environment and what happens in North America as both countries are looking at environmental policies related to carbon energy – sustainable energy.  And we'll talk about trade issues…

"Jobs are created frankly on both sides of the border – but certainly in our country – as a result of freer and fairer trade.  We're always looking for ways as premiers to make sure – to see – if there's some way we can reduce some of the barriers of that trade."

As usual when Mr. Wall goes to Washington, he has a full plate!  Between chairing the COF and meeting with provincial, US state and federal officials as well as key business leaders like the President and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce Tom Donohue, Wall is discussing our critical bilateral relationship with many influential members of the US and Canadian media corps including Judy Woodruff of the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Lee-Anne Goodman with The Canadian Press, Robert Benzie with The Toronto Star, Sheldon Alberts with The National Post, Doug Palmer with Reuters, Konrad Yakabuski with The Globe and Mail, and the CBC's Evan Solomon on his program Power and Politics. 

Lots of Energy

Meanwhile, just last week, Saskatchewan's Minister of Enterprise Ken Cheveldayoff was in Texas attending the important 2010 NAPE Expo on provincial business and also working hard to provide US media with the rich Saskatchewan success story. 

In a morning-drive interview with Houston's CNN 650 radio, Cheveldayoff talked oil, energy and opportunity with popular hosts Steven Kay and Brent Clanton. 

Excerpt from the CNN radio interview:

Brent Clanton: How are things going up in your part of the world, and what is your take on what’s happening right now with the whole energy environment?

Ken Cheveldayoff: Well, we have a remarkable story to tell.  We’re a province of just over a million people.  We’re Canada’s second largest producer of oil.  Third largest producer of gas.  One quarter of the world’s potash.  1/4 to 1/3 of the world’s uranium.  We heat 4 – 6 percent of the homes in the United States with electricity that’s generated from our uranium.  We’re the largest conflict-free exporter of oil and the number one friend and ally to the United States.  So, it’s great to be here, we’ve got a great story to tell about what’s happening in our province and how we can be of benefit to the United States and the whole North American oil and gas industry. 

Wilkins Weighs In

Our own David Wilkins had a thing or two to say about US politics and our bilateral relationship recently to Mike Blanchfield with The Canadian Press. 

Blanchfield's article focused on the fate of "Canada-US climate change plans" in the wake of Republican Scott Brown's election in Massachusetts. 

With most Americans opposed to controversial cap and trade measures, Wilkins thinks Congress will be even harder pressed to pass anything that significantly increases government spending or the burden on taxpayers' wallets.

More from The Canadian Press: 

Republican David Wilkins, who preceded Jacobson to Ottawa as George W. Bush's ambassador to Canada, said Tuesday the chances of a cap-and-trade bill getting passed anytime soon are "slim" at best.

"A year ago, the world was euphoric over the inauguration of President Obama. And if I'd have said a year later to the day that a little known Republican senator from Massachusetts is going to take Ted Kennedy's seat, you'd think we were out of our minds," Wilkins said in a telephone interview from his native South Carolina.

"There's no question the political sands are shifting again in our country, from health care and cap-and-trade, for example, to the economy and jobs," he added.

"But as far as a cap and trade bill, per se, I think it's dead for the foreseeable future."

Wilkins said Republicans and Democrats will both have to make compromises if Obama's agenda is to gain any traction.

With Brown's election, the Democrats hold a 59-41 advantage in the Senate - one vote short of the vote the party needs to overcome Republican filibusters.

One of the few potential Republican compromisers is Wilkins' good friend from South Carolina, Sen. Lindsey Graham. Wilkins said Graham is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions and has shown some significant bipartisan behaviour by penning an opinion article with Democratic Sen. John Kerry for U.S. newspapers.

"He believes that climate change is real and that we need to address it. He also realizes there are different opinions on how to address it," said Wilkins.

While Graham is a proponent of alternative energy sources such as wind power, and has toured Canada's carbon sequestration project in Weyburn, Sask., he is a big proponent of off-shore drilling - something Obama initially opposed when he was running for the presidency in 2008.…

Olympic Snows Blow South

Team Wilkins is rooted to the TV watching our northern neighbors put on the Winter Olympics in Vancouver.  In fact, we couldn’t be more proud of Canada showcasing itself to the world and we're cheering it all – saluting our US and Canadian athletes and sending out congratulations and continued best wishes to Vancouver as the heavy lifting of hosting duties continues.  And in what we think is just a delicious plot twist, we're doing all this from our snowy perch down here in South Carolina.

That's right – snow in South Carolina!

Last weekend we got some six inches of the white stuff, sending Southern kids of all ages into fits of delight and producing a veritable army of snowmen equipped with everything from sad little sticks to some impressive munitions (like we said, this is still the South.)