BLOGExtra: Minister of International Trade Van Loan Bombshell

I heard this video clip on the CBC Money program, "The Lang and OLeary Exchange." Watch and listen to it for yourself. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GTl8ww-3AnA

It is a real shocker:

I wonder exactly what it means since Dan Stamper stated clearly that Minister Van Loan before he became an MP was writing letters to the Government supporting what the Ambassador Bridge was proposing as "the right answer." That is completely contrary to the Government position that DRIC is the way to go.

Of course, our media investigative reporters will ignore the issue since it is NOT another anti-Moroun attack. It's similar to the Windsor Star approach to journalism--ignore key stories that don't favour your position and they disappear.

Frankly, I find it shocking. Why then has Van Loan remained silent? In his former position of Minister of Public Safety, he had responsibility for Customs (CBSA) and was involved in border crossings matters as this excerpt from a letter from the Canadian Chamber of Commerce shows:

Or in this story:

• "Van Loan signs border pact with homeland security head
  Trade, security issues dominate 2-day meeting
  
  Border security issues sat at the top of the agenda on the first day of a two-day conference between high-ranking officials on both side of the Canada-U.S. border.
  
  Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan met with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano in Windsor on Tuesday. The pair will meet again in Ottawa on Wednesday.
  
  After touring port operations on both sides of the border, the two signed an agreement allowing armed guards to patrol shared waterways and share information and resources."

But as I wrote before, here is what was so startling about what Van Loan said in the past:

• “In Washington to talk to his U.S. counterpart, Canada's public safety minister said Wednesday that they agreed to meet twice a year to head off problems that might snarl trade at the border…
  
  Van Loan said the two sides would probably meet once a year in Canada and once in the United States, perhaps at the border itself.
  
  He also got a commitment from Napolitano that Washington will look again at the idea of what is called land pre-clearance, he said.
  
  Under a proposal favoured by Ottawa, American officials would check U.S.-bound trucks on the Canadian side of the border and vice versa, easing trade bottlenecks.
  
  Van Loan said he suggested a pilot project at the Windsor-Detroit border but nothing was settled.”

Nothing ever happened with that idea did it! How could it---it would have helped Moroun and negated any need for a DRIC bridge. Obviously, someone slapped the Minister down, hard. Who cares about solving security issues when there is a Canadian political agenda at play.

So what is it with the Minister? It seems to me that he is pro-Bridge Company yet he is a Minister in the Government which is opposed to the Bridge Company. How does he reconcile that?

How can he remain in the Government and especially as a Minister if he does not favour what the Government wants? Or, is being and remaining a Minister that important?

My head is spinning. Someone needs to start asking some questions soon to clear this up.

It is clear now that on the border file at least, the Harper Government is completely out of control!