Obama arrives in Ottawa

[iverglas]

Source: CBC

Air Force One has touched down at Ottawa International Airport for Barack Obama’s first foreign trip as U.S. president in what is being billed as a six-hour no-nonsense working visit with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean will welcome Obama, who boarded the presidential airplane at Andrews Air Force base outside Washington, D.C., shortly before 9:30 a.m. ET Thursday.

Obama is expected to meet with the Governor General for about 20 minutes, and is scheduled to leave the airport just over an hour after his arrival and travel via motorcade to Parliament Hill to meet Harper in the Centre Block rotunda.

A few dozen people, some holding flags and banners, gathered in front of Parliament Hill hoping to catch a glimpse of Obama when he arrives

Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2009/02/19/obama-visit.h...

---

Any of you guys noticed that your President has left the building?

[iverglas]

1. live coverage - CBC on line

http://www.cbc.ca/video/popup_nlp.html?http://www.cbc.c...

I'm looking forward to the pix of Obama meeting Gov. Gen. Michaëlle Jean.

[Mika]

2. She is the representative of Canada's dictator for life - Elizabeth Windsor.

Not only does Canada not have term limits (dictator for life), but they have an unelected dictator who resides in another country.

And so many DUers think that Venezuela is bad.

[iverglas]

3. thank you, thank you very much

Your informed and respectful contribution to the discussion is greatly appreciated.

Perhaps your head of state will give us some lessons in democracy while we're here.

Of course, there are always the Marines ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHhZF66C1Dc

[Billy Burnett]

6. At least in Venezuela they elect their dictator for life.

How's the occupation of Haiti going?

[iverglas]

9. I keep hoping you folks will wake up

The long nightmare is over, the witch is dead.

Ethnocentricity and xenophobia are no longer in fashion in your parts.

Big Brother is not watching you now. You can go ahead and be as liberal, democratic and progressive as you like.

How liberal, democratic and progressive you do like ... well, that's up to you.

Heck, if the brave new regime results in some money being spent on education, you may even have some tools for the job.

[Billy Burnett]

19. Oh. Everything's fine now. Obama's in control.

He flipped the Big Brother switch to the off position. It's all good now.



Let's see how many union workers get negotiated out of their jobs.

[sharp_stick]

4. It's even worse, much like Prince and Madonna

She just calls herself Elizabeth and expects everyone to know who she is. The damned ego on that woman!

[iverglas]

16. now, don't forget what's 'er name

...... Hillary.

[Spazito]

25. LOL!

Having followed the Chavez threads, I get your point and love it!

[Mika]

39. I knew there'd be at least 1 DUer who got it.

[iverglas]

7. my point here, for those who avoided it

was what striking evidence such photos will be of the new face of the northern part of the Americas.

Canada, a true nation of immigrants (foreign-born population double the proportion in the US) and of diverse ethnicities and cultures and national origins, embodied by a head of state who is a woman of colour born in Haiti -- and the U.S., with its historical racial divides, with reconciliation and renewal embodied by a head of state who is the son of an African immigrant and a descendant of European immigrants.

[treestar]

28. Someone born in another country can be the head of state?

Cool. Is that a ceremonial position?

[iverglas]

29. largely ceremnial

as all the international news reports are describing it in reports of Obama's visit.

It's quite complex, in fact, and involves a lot of what we call constitutional convention, and the traditions of parliamentary democracy and so on. The whole checks-and-balances thing is arranged differently from in a presidential/congressional/republican state.

There is a residual role for the head of state, and it was played, badly in my opinion, late last year, when the Gov Gen acceded to the Prime Minister's request to suspend parliament until he could get his act together and avoid being brought down by a non-confidence vote. There is respectable opinion on both sides of that one.

But yes. Anybody who is born anywhere and is a Canadian citizen may hold any public office in Canada. It's never really been an issue, particularly since our small population was so contantly being augmented by immigration from Britain and Europe in the early days, and nobody would have thought of suggesting a good British-born gent wasn't eligible to be whatever he wanted.

[Posteritatis]

35. Many countries allow foreign-born people to hold high office

Maybe most, though I'm not about to go reading all two-hundred-someodd constitutions to confirm that.

Jean's position is largely ceremonial, but if Harper were born in the States or Mars or something he'd still be perfectly eligible to become head of government (which is almost-but-not-quite the same thing up here anyway).

[sharp_stick]

5. It sure is nice to see

that when the President now lands in a foreign country they don't need to set up huge pens for protesters like they did the last eight years.

[elleng]

8. Listen to Canadian radio about his arrival,

and watch puppies!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/shayla-%26-her-golden-ret...

[iverglas]

10. I can't help it

No matter how long I'm here, I never cease to be gobsmacked by the jingoism and ignorance.

The purpose of this post was to offer access to information about your new head of state's first trip outside your country -- something your own news media have been rather studiously ignoring.

I actually thought DU members might be interested in following this. It's an event, involving your President Obama, the one you swept into office recently on that wave of Change.

And what dominates the response?

Same old ignorant same old.

Do you imagine that this is how Obama will be behaving over lunch?

[elleng]

12. Thanks;

I'm ignorant about the sillyness here; deliberately.

Very nice of you to present this opportunity to us.

[iverglas]

13. and thanks for the radio link ;)

I had to go open IE to watch CBC, since I've never figured out how to make CBC video work in Firefox ...

I'm just lucky my ISP finally replaced the high-speed modem they fried on me a couple of weeks ago!

[elleng]

18. You're welcome.

I've read some of the other stuff here. ;-(

[jwirr]

14. I hear you and appreciated the post and I would like to say that the

type of government other people choose is none of our business - that is exactly how we get into so much trouble world wide. Democracy can ONLY come from the grassroots - that is how we got ours and the only way we are going to keep it. I would guess he is reassuring them that even if we seek to change NAFTA there will still be trade between our countries.

[Mika]

15. Gawd. I was joking.

I didn't think that I really needed this -> Guess I was wrong.

And Billy was pulling your leg also.

Jeez. Take a breath. OK?

[iverglas]

17. I guess it works as sarcasm

because it is so often said straight. Including at this site.

[Billy Burnett]

20. Well, Canada does have an unelected dictator for life.

Didn't the Queen shut down the "prorogue" parliament to stop a "coup d’état" by elected parliamentarians?

If that happened in Venezuela the shit would hit the fan. The Venezuelans of all political persuasions would be in the streets.

[iverglas]

21. Am I so wrong?

Didn't the Queen shut down the "prorogue" parliament to stop a "coup d’état" by elected parliamentarians?

No.

Anything else?

[Mika]

30. Can you explain what happen for the undereducated American masses?

I remember reading some DU threads on some action by the GG on the prorogue parliament. I didn't really follow it, and being the dumb-ass American that I am, I need help understanding what actually happened.

Can you please give a thumbnail explanation or drop a link? Thanks.

[iverglas]

31. many links

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/12/04/harper-jean.h...

[Mika]

34. Thanks for the link. So, the GG, did shut down parliament.

Isn't the GG the Queens representative in Canada? What is the role of the GG and can you explain how the GG is (s)elected?

Thank you for helping us understand the process.

[Posteritatis]

37. Not least because their constitution doesn't have provisions for such things

The Canadian one does, and the fuss was because it's an incredibly rare situation to end up in up here. Imagine the madness if, say, the House couldn't (or wouldn't) confirm Obama's election by January 20, thus causing Biden to become president. It would be perfectly, totally legal and legitimate, but oh the howling and hyperbole.

"Prorogue" is a verb, not an adjective; it simply means to put the legislature into recess without dissolving it.

Anyone using the word "coup" to describe the whole thing, up here or elsewhere, automatically fails the Canadian political science exam.

Not all countries operate on the American system of government, and a whole lot of us don't want to. The whole monarchical system, archaic and highly ceremonial as it is, hangs around at least partly due to the consent of the Canadian people; Elizabeth's stormtroopers wouldn't descend from the skies in glorious wrath or something if Parliament decided to abandon the monarchy.

[NYC Liberal]

22. Well I will say thanks! :)

I've been looking around for more info on what's been going on -- and I don't really prefer to watch the MSM with their commentary. Have they been ignoring it?

[iverglas]

23. Joe!!

I didn't realize he was here too! I would've made the trip.


Oops. I got too excited. That's an old photo. Shoot.

When Joe was interviewed in a series of one-on-ons with primaries candidates, in which they were asked oddball questions, his answer to "where would you live if you absolutely could not live in the US?" was a resounding and immediate "Canada!"

[Dulcinea]

26. Not true.

http://edition.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/19/obama.canada...

[iverglas]

27. now that it's happened!

Google news is full of it.

http://news.google.ca/news?gbv=2&hl=en&tab=in&scoring=n...


Pix here, e.g.:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/02/19/obama-canada-t...

[FightingIrish]

11. I'm really worried about Obama's trip to Canada.

What if they decide to keep him?

[iverglas]

24. we like him fine where he is

Have no fear.

[Posteritatis]

36. We only planned on photocopying him, but we'll flip a coin on which one we send back (nt)

[kitty1]

32. I'm hoping Obama's charisma will rub off on Harper .....

He has about as much excitement as oatmeal.

[Posteritatis]

38. I loved how BBC News described Harper the other day

"Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is a Conservative who leads a minority government, and it would be fair to say that he has avoided the temptations of charisma in doing so."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7898464.stm

(Of course, the Beeb's forgetting about Trudeamania.)

[iverglas]

40. Trudeaumania

Lloyd forgot about it on CTV last night too. Something about how this outpouring of idolatry was unprecedented.

Hey. I got slugged in the gut (well, nudged hard) by one of Pierre's bodyguards back in 1968 when I crowded our pet too closely at the car door as he was getting in, hoping for a glance or a flash of teeth.

Rock star politicians? We started it!

[Posteritatis]

41. I suppose such an outpouring for a foreign head of state is unprecedented..

I'm kind of surprised it was an American president who first got that kind of zomgsquee reaction, but that just makes it neater.

(Then again, Clinton's well-liked, at least in my part of the country.)

[FarLeftRage]

33. I saw almost all of the live coverage on my teevee

I get both CBC and CTV... here in America and I only live about forty miles south of the border.

CBC had the best coverage IMHO...