Thursday, March 28, 2024
ADVT 
National

David Cohen gets to work as U.S. envoy to Canada

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 07 Dec, 2021 03:04 PM
  • David Cohen gets to work as U.S. envoy to Canada

WASHINGTON - David Cohen is finally getting down to business as the newest United States ambassador to Canada — the first to take on the role full-time since 2019.

Cohen, a lawyer, lobbyist and former U.S. tech executive, presented his letters of credence today to Gov. Gen. Mary Simon in a ceremony at Rideau Hall.

In a statement, he says his top priority will be to preserve and to strengthen the special relationship between the two countries.

Cohen, who previously served as a senior adviser and chief diversity officer at U.S. communications giant Comcast, was nominated in July by President Joe Biden.

Observers say he'll be busy: a number of irritants are complicating U.S.-Canada ties under Biden, including a proposed tax credit for electric vehicles that threatens the health of the Canadian auto sector.

Cohen is the first full-time U.S. ambassador in Ottawa since Donald Trump's choice, Kelly Craft, decamped in August 2019 to serve the U.S. envoy to the United Nations.

Despite his business background, Cohen is no stranger to political circles. In addition to serving as Comcast's primary lobbyist, he spent five years as chief of staff to Philadelphia mayor Ed Rendell in the 1990s.

He also hosted the first fundraising event of Biden's successful 2020 presidential election campaign.

"I have known President Biden and his family for three decades, and I was deeply honoured when he asked me to serve as his personal representative in Canada," Cohen said in a statement following the ceremony.

The two countries, he said, are "connected not just by trade or treaties, but by shared values, by enduring friendships between our peoples, and by families on both sides of our border."

Cohen said he'll be focused initially on implementing elements of the so-called "road map" of shared U.S.-Canada priorities the two leaders hashed out in February after Biden was inaugurated.

But that agenda has been largely overtaken by a number of issues, including the EV tax credit, divergent approaches to travel restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border, disagreements over the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement and higher U.S. duties on Canadian softwood lumber.

Cohen's arrival in Ottawa comes less than a month after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spent two days in Washington hoping to convince Biden to reconsider the tax credit plan.

Canadian industry experts say if passed by Congress, the incentives — worth up to US$12,500 to a new-car buyer if the vehicle was built on American soil with union labour — would deal a critical blow to the auto sector north of the border.

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Surgeon suspended after hanging noose in hospital

Surgeon suspended after hanging noose in hospital
A disciplinary tribunal of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Alberta issued the suspension Monday to Dr. Wynand Wessels, a white, South African-born orthopedic surgeon.

Surgeon suspended after hanging noose in hospital

Canadians coming from Africa criticize quarantine

Canadians coming from Africa criticize quarantine
Lennard Skead, of Brandon, Man., says he received a negative COVID-19 test on Saturday but wasn't allowed to leave a Toronto quarantine hotel until the next day, when he was notified by a quarantine officer.

Canadians coming from Africa criticize quarantine

Gas rationing continues for now in B.C.: minister

Gas rationing continues for now in B.C.: minister
Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth says the lifting of the provincial 30-litre purchase order will occur as soon as the pipeline system is able resume full service, but until then, fuel limits will remain in place until Dec. 14.

Gas rationing continues for now in B.C.: minister

Body found in burned out vehicle in Abbotsford, IHIT investigating

Body found in burned out vehicle in Abbotsford, IHIT investigating
Upon the fire being extinguished by Abbotsford Fire Rescue Service, human remains were located within the vehicle. Abbotsford Police Patrol Officers, Major Crime Detectives, and the Forensic Identification Unit remain on the scene. Officers are in the initial stages of this investigation and there are no further details at this time.

Body found in burned out vehicle in Abbotsford, IHIT investigating

Cracks in Cyclones could be linked to folding tail

Cracks in Cyclones could be linked to folding tail
Unlike the CH-148 Cyclone, the S-92 does not have a folding tail boom, a feature that allows the Cyclone to fit inside the small hangars aboard Canada's fleet of Halifax-class frigates.

Cracks in Cyclones could be linked to folding tail

Deportation decision delayed in Broncos case

Deportation decision delayed in Broncos case
A lawyer for Jaskirat Singh Sidhu, 33, had sent a voluminous amount of paperwork to the Canada Border Services Agency earlier this year arguing why he should be allowed to stay in Canada once his sentence has been served. Sidhu was sentenced to eight years after pleading guilty to dangerous driving causing death and bodily harm in the April 2018 collision that killed 16 people and injured 13.    

Deportation decision delayed in Broncos case