Trump communication confusion causes historic policy paralysis in Ottawa
OTTAWA — Prime Minister Justin Trudeau may have taken to Twitter this weekend to defend immigration and diversity, but behind the scenes there’s a formidable ghost bedevilling the machinery of Canadian government — Donald Trump.
The U.S. president’s way of communicating — Tweets, various interview musings and executive order pronouncements — have upended the traditional, time-honoured way of conducting the business of Canada’s relations with its largest trading partner and top ally.
The effect, sources tell The Canadian Press, is historic because the usual way that Canada and most western governments would make foreign policy has been thrown out the window.
The bottom line, they say, is the absence of something very basic — paper.