Hon. Marc Gold (Government Representative in the Senate): Thank you for the question. Yes, the relationship that Canada has on trade with the United States is a long-standing one, a productive one and a mutually beneficial one, but it has never been without these tensions, regardless of who occupies the White House or who is in control of Congress. The fact is that there has been a strain of protectionism in the United States that is long-standing, and we have our own issues as well that we feel are important to protect the interests of our own consumers and our own producers.

Canada has been very successful historically in prosecuting its interest in relation to United States protectionism and we will continue to do so. This is not a punctual issue. It’s an ongoing regular part of Canada’s relationships with the United States, has been since before the State of the Union Address yesterday and will continue to be so afterwards. Our track record is pretty good at defending our interests in relation to trade with the United States, but it would be folly to assume that these issues will ever go away. And in this case, I think it’s fair to say the United States is in, yet again, a cycle of perpetual electioneering and politicking.

When we put all of those factors together, speeches are made, legislative initiatives are being contemplated and the Canadian government has been working on this for months, if not years, behind the scenes, as it typically does and has done with great success and will continue to do so.