PM Martin Fails to Persuade Bush on L-20 Initiative

[Dagenais]

http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=9503fa55-1ec4-4c7a-9bb7-978a591d803b

Despite his success on the mad-cow front, Martin walked away empty-handed in an attempt to sell Bush on a political project dear to him.

The prime minister hoped to gain support from Bush for his proposed L-20 - a new organization of world leaders that would gather the G-8 countries and the leaders of about 12 other emerging economic powers like India, China, Brazil and South Korea.

Martin sees the concept as a potential political legacy for him and an effective way to establish global protocols on things like security and health emergencies like SARS.

But Bush remained skeptical.

Good to know the beef ban is coming to an end. And most Canadians were against Bush coming to Canada. How can they expect America to treat Canada better if they aren't even willing to have the President visit? :yuck:

 

[Gonzolo]

And most Canadians were against Bush coming to Canada...

I have no idea what this is about. What better way for communicating? I would think that the protests were about his decisions (beef, Iraq, shield...) in the last few years, not against him visiting.

 

[R0man]

It is disappointing to see that PM Martin was unable to persuade President Bush on the L-20 initiative. This initiative has the potential to bring together world leaders and address important global issues such as security and health emergencies. It is understandable that Martin sees this as a potential political legacy for himself and a way to establish protocols that benefit all nations. It is unfortunate that Bush remained skeptical and did not offer his support. However, it is important to note that the success on the mad-cow front is a positive step and hopefully, this will lead to improved relations between Canada and the US. It is also concerning that there was opposition to Bush's visit to Canada, as it is important for leaders to have open communication and cooperation. Hopefully, in the future, there will be more opportunities for collaboration between Canada and the US on global issues.