Canada Institute Report on Activities
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
CANADA INSTITUTE REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OCTOBER 1, 2008 – MARCH 30, 2010 / 1 / WOODROW WILSON CENTER Mission Statement The Woodrow Wilson Center is the living, national memorial to President Wilson, established by Congress in 1968 and headquar- tered in Washington, D.C. The Center is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds, engaged in the study of national and world affairs. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue. The Center’s mission is to com- memorate the ideals and concerns of Woodrow Wilson by providing a link between the world of ideas and the world of policy and by fostering research, study, discussion, and collaboration among a broad spec- trum of individuals concerned with policy and scholarship in national and international affairs. In addition to the more than 700 meetings and lectures it holds each year, the Wilson Center maintains an active campaign of outreach through books, newsletters, the award-winning Wilson Quarterly magazine, and the globally syndicated dialogue radio and television programs. CANADA INSTITUTE Mission Statement The Canada Institute of the Woodrow Wilson Center works to increase awareness and knowledge about Canada and Canada-U.S. issues among U.S. policymakers and opinion leaders. Knowledge in the public service / 2 / CANADA INSTITUTE REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OCTOBER 1, 2008 – MARCH 30, 2010 Canada’s profile among Americans important issues of the day, the Canada remains more limited than it should Institute’s programs and publica- in spite of the enormous trading and tions—both in the United States and cultural relationship between the in Canada—seek to increase aware- two countries. ness and knowledge about Canada and Canada-U.S. issues among U.S. The Canada Institute was founded policymakers and opinion leaders. in 2001 in an effort to highlight the importance of the Canada-U.S. The Institute’s programs, publica- relationship among U.S. policymak- tions, and partnerships in Canada ers and the informed public. and the United States consistently encourage open dialogue, bringing The Canada Institute, an integral to the fore positive as well as critical program of the Woodrow Wilson views of the issue at hand. Outside of International Center for Scholars, Washington, D.C., the Canada Institute promotes a free flow of ideas and strives to encourage a full discus- policy options for deepening un- sion of bilateral policy by organizing derstanding, communication, and programs in Canada that include U.S. cooperation between the United perspectives on key bilateral issues. States and Canada by engaging policymakers and members of the scholarly, business, and not-for-profit communities in creative dialogue. The Canada Institute does not have a policy or legislative agenda. Rather, reflecting the Wilson Center’s tradi- tion of providing a non-partisan forum to foster and advance dialogue on / 1 / Note from the Canada Institute Director At the forefront of the Canada Institute’s staff works to ensure that Institute’s mission is to promote di- Congressional staffers and policy alogue on bilateral issues between leaders with an interest in our pro- Canada and the United States. gramming participate in our events. Since the Institute’s founding in 2001, we have worked tirelessly to Beyond this, the Canada Institute build and improve our programming. has taken full advantage of the Center’s recently created Wilson It is for this reason that the Center on the Hill program, which Canada Institute held a strategic holds Wilson Center programs on planning retreat in September 2008 Capitol Hill in an effort to directly to consider the focus of its pro- engage U.S. policymakers on issues gramming and outreach, and how of national importance. Through this to organize the Advisory Board in a initiative, the Canada Institute has manner that fully utilizes its mem- held programs on Buy American bers’ expertise and experience. and the strengths of the Canadian banking system. One outcome of this meeting was the decision to focus the Canada As always, we recognize that our Canada Institute on North American Institute’s programming in three work would not be possible without Issues for their support of the core areas: energy and the environ- the continued guidance of our Canada Institute’s activities. Warren ment, border and security, and trade Advisory Board and support of our died in April 2009 and is missed issues. This initiative has enabled the donors. We are also grateful to the by many; his initial gift helped the Institute to fully commit its time and corporations and individuals who Canada Institute get its start. resources to issues of the highest participated in the March 2, 2009 priority in the bilateral relationship. Woodrow Wilson Awards dinner in David N. Biette Toronto. Their generosity has been Director Participants in the retreat also a fundamental part of the Canada reached a consensus that the Institute’s extraordinary success Canada Institute should make a and growth. concerted effort to attract U.S. policymakers and their staff to I would also like to acknowledge its programming. To this end, the the late C. Warren Goldring and the / 2 / Publications Canada Canada Institute InstItute MARCH 2009 Occasional Paper Series Transboundary tHIs publiCation contains four papers from a two-day conference on Transboundary Environmental Governance in Canada and the United States, Environmental held at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars on May 8 and 9, 2008, and organized by the Canada Institute. The conference aimed to provide Governance in participants with a better understanding of the varied institutional arrangements that make up environmental cross-border governance between Canada and the Canada and the United States, and determine whether these arrangements have had a substantive impact on the bilateral environmental relationship. United States Much of the discussion throughout the conference focused on the relevance and impact of the International Joint Commission (IJC) on bilateral environmental issues. Through the Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909, the International Joint Commission was granted a broad range of powers by the Canadian and United States gov- ernments to jointly manage transboundary water resources. The IJC’s institutional structure—allowing equal representation from both countries and a commitment to binational consensus in its decision making—has been heralded as a model for building international cooperation between countries. As Stephen Brooks points out in his paper, however, very little work has been carried out to determine the IJC’s impact or effectiveness in resolving transboundary water disputes. He maintains that the IJC is in fact in danger of becoming marginal- ized in issues of cross-border governance as a result of the creation of many other institutions that share its mandate. Consequently, says Brooks, the IJC has been relegated to a less prominent role than had been envisioned when it was created over 100 years ago. Timothy Heinmiller makes the case that although the IJC and its international river management regimes have been essential to the political economy of the Prairie region for decades, they now threaten the region’s stability by adhering to water management policies that do not reflect a changing climate. Implementing needed institutional reforms that promote environmental sustainability, Heinmiller says, will require overcoming significant political pressure from sectors with a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. G. Tracy Mehan III and David B. Brooks, Stephen Brooks et al., “Transboundary “Water Abundance in Canada and the Environmental Governance in Canada United States: Myth or Reality?,” and the United States,” Occasional Paper One Issue, Two Voices, Issue 10 Series, No. 3 (March 2009) (November 2008) Barry Sookman and Eric J. Schwartz, Barry Rabe et al., “Environmental “Copyright Law in Canada and the United Governance on the 49th Parallel: New States: The Digital Challenge,” One Issue, Century, New Approaches,” Occasional Two Voices, Issue 11 (September 2009) Paper Series, No. 4 (February 2010) / 3 / Programs and Selected Summaries OCTOBER 1, 2008 THROUGH MARCH 30, 2010 • All affiliations in this report reflect The Canada Institute maintains a full archive the title and affiliation of the indi- of its events available on its website, featur- ing a brief summary of each of its programs, vidual at the time of the event live webcasts of many of the events, as well as web links and related publications • Summaries of programs are for those interested in acquiring a deeper understanding of the issues addressed by available on the Canada Institute the Canada Institute. website, www.WilsonCenter.org/ Canada Each program section in this report begins with a summary of a key event—an example of the spectrum of topics covered by the • Unless otherwise noted, events Institute, which captures the range of took place in Washington, D.C., at perspectives, ideas, and initiatives that are brought to the fore in the Canada Institute’s the Woodrow Wilson Center programming. • indicates that a webcast of the event is archived at the Canada Institute website / 4 / Energy and the Environment Building a Smarter Grid: Challenges and Opportunities for the United States and Canada March 18, 2010 the potential benefits of a Smart Grid to prevent a public backlash over the costs The current electric transmission system of its implementation. in the United States will be challenged within the next 20 years to meet growing David Leeds of GTM research cautioned energy demand, said James Hoecker of that much more investment, particularly Husch Blackwell Sanders at a confer- from the private sector, will be needed in ence hosted by the Canada Institute and order to transition to a Smart Grid. Global Energy Initiative. The program provided a timely forum to discuss U.S. Kimberly Harriman, assistant secretary and Canadian efforts to transition to for energy for the State of New York, a more modern and efficient electric offered an overview of how New York is grid.