By Doug Draper
The way Harper’s dutiful foot soldiers put it, the Canadian Consulate in Buffalo, New York is little more than a front office for processing visas for foreign nationals and others. So why not close it and save the taxpayers of Canada a little money.
That plan, made public this past May 26, no doubt hits the mark for the Stephen Harper government’s core constituencies of neo-conservatives and libertarians who see government as an enemy that ought to be vanquished unless, of course, it comes to military procurements or any entitlements like seniors’ pensions or drug and health benefits that enrich their lives personally.
“I can assure the people in our region that this will certainly not affect – in any way – our historically strong relationship with our American neighbours,” said Niagara Falls MP and Harper government cabinet member Rob Nicholson in a written response to the local media following the May 26 news. “The reality is that with the increasing use of technology, there is less need for physical space and applicants can now increasingly apply and pay online, without ever having to visit a visa office. Our Government will continue providing better service at the best cost to Canadian taxpayers.”
Of course anyone who has spent any real time in media and communications knows that anyone in the Harper Conservative caucus, up to Harper himself, cannot clear their throat publicly without having their words vetted through the prime minister’s office. So there is no reason why anyone should care what Nicholson has to say about the planned closing of the Canadian Consulate office beyond that point. For any further information from the Harper government on this issue, one might just a well eliminate the middle man, including Nicholson or any other Harper MPs in the region, and go straight to the spin doctors in the prime minister’s office.
Our regional politicians and businesses have something different to say about the impending closing of this office, which is scheduled to take place this August.
“I am devastated by this news,” Niagara, Ontario regional government chair Gary Burroughs told Niagara At Large during an interview this May 28. “This (Canadian Consulate) office has been such a key player for economic development in this area. It has been our link (to political and business leaders on the U.S. side of the border) as a regional government and as a business community.”
Niagara Falls, Ontario Mayor Jim Diodati told NAL he’s surprised he found out about the planned closing of the office through the media and not from the federal government
“I am very disappointed in this and I don’t see the logic here,” said Diodati of the apparent interest the Harper government has expressed in the past in encouraging cross-border communities and businesses work more closely together for the economic benefit of all. “This (planned closing) appear to fly in the face of that strategy.”
Diodati, like Burroughs, said the Canadian Consulate office in Buffalo is far more than a “visa processing factory.” It has continuously brought mayors and other municipal leaders, and businesses on both sides of the border together to search for solutions to the job and business challenges they face together. It has also played a lead role in organizing heritage events, including the upcoming bicentennial remembrances for the War of 1812.
Three years ago this June, Canadian’s Buffalo consulate office was instrumental in organizing Canada/U.S. gatherings celebrating the 100th anniversary of the signing of a binational Boundary Waters Treaty that has remained a key tool for both countries to protect and preserve the waters of the Great Lakes. That celebration saw the Canada/U.S. International Joint Commission meet in the Niagara region to discuss Great Lakes-related concerns with area politicians and citizen groups, and it saw U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton stand in the middle of the Rainbow Bridge and announce plans between the two countries to update the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement.
Burroughs and Diodati said they will work with other politicians and business groups on both sides of the border to persuade the federal government to keep the consulate office in Buffalo open.
According to a recent, front-page story in The Buffalo News, business and politicial leaders there are also vowing to fight the closing.
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer of New York was quoted in that newspaper saying; “I fully plan on pushing the Canadian government to reverse this decision. This office is an important resource for businesses throughout Western New York and ought to stay open for business in Buffalo.”
The Harper government said it will turn over the Buffalo office duties to a diplomatic office in New York State, but Burroughs said he doesn’t see how an office in New York could have the same connection and sensitivity to issues affecting communities sharing what is one of the busiest border crossings in North America as an office right here in the greater Niagara region can.
(Niagara At Large invites our readers to share their views on this post in the comment area below.)
Niagara At Large 
The closing of the Buffalo Consulate shows how misunderstood the duties of a Consul, The Harper Government is driven by a slash and burn policy when it comes to the public service.Where will prospective business people go for information on doing business in the Canadian market and visa versa,? My nephew for over 15 years has worked for the US State Department as a vice Consul and a Consul General in India , These Consulates do very important work beside the issuance of Visas and passports and screening immigrants, they make speaches to Chambers of Commerce on doing business ,with the home country,do the groundwork before a Prime Minister or President arrives, for the major announcements, such as a Treaty.India has a huge rent a womb business for US familys unable to carry an embryo to term..the legal aspects are enormous..We are the busiest border between the US and Canada.Me, I think our government has completely lost it’s senses,
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I will have to take care and NOT use the word Judas but then of course most know my utter distrust and hatred for Corporate governments. This came about after learning the history and reasoning behind the formation of this type of business arrangement.
First employed about 150 years ago to protect the business equity of entrepreneurs engaged in business practice it has risen to “EXTREME” power through the action of manipulative Lawyers and finally the nail was driven into the coffin when the Republican Dominated SUPREME COURT of the U.S.A. in a landmark decision granted it basically the rights equal to all citizens of the United States. Other countries soon followed suit and we NOW have a situation where Corporate involvement in Politics has assured that this power will remain intact. (Since they literally own all the Media in world)
From reading on line informative articles printed by Social consequence people such as Draper and others and then reading the Novel by Lawrence Martin my most hideous thoughts began to form and when the “NOW” Minister Defense once leader of the old and to many the venerated “Progressive Conservatives” Party stuck it to David Orchard 9after signing an agreement not to “MERGE” parties…DID SO ). Then I was truly convinced that the Canada we once knew and loved was lost to a Tin Pot Dictator who seems to NOT have an ounce Compassion or National Pride in his miserable carcass and what is even more sickening is the fact that so many Right Wing Canadians revel in his obsessive and obscene dictatorial manipulations of parliament and our Charter of Rights. What is equally sickening is the Canadians who sit on their fat asses at election time and do not vote, in so doing allow these goons to totally control this country and sell it off to the highest bidder as long as it assures they will remain in office. AND THEY “WILL” AS LONG AS MANY CANADIANS SIT BACK AND LET IT HAPPEN……..Amen
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I’m not quite sure what Mr Somers is trying to say! I think he is saying that he doesn’t like the current government in Ottawa. If that is the case, I will have to agree with him. But he also says that “so many Right Wing Canadians revel in his obsessive and obscene dictatorial manipulations of parliament and our Charter of Rights. And this is where I take strong exception! I am a right-wing Canadian. But that does not mean I agree with the actions of the Harper government! Mr Somers also mentions the Charter of Rights. He seems to indicate that he supports that piece of crap from Pierre Trudeau. I do not! It gives too many rights to the criminal – and none to the victim! But that is fodder for another discussion.
As for closing the Canadian consulate in Buffalo – is it really that big a deal? Let’s face it — our government spends far too much money on frivolities we do not need! I can see having consulates in some major U-S cities. To me, Buffalo is not that major! Too often, the consulates are staffed by party hacks and favourites. Closing a consular office in Buffalo is a step (albeit a very small one) toward reducing waste. I fully expect that others will disagree with me – so be it. But as a right-wing Canadian, who also happens to have a social conscience, I am prepared for the slings and arrows.
There is one point that I hope others will consider: The Harper government calls itself Conservative. They are trying to cash in on the old Progressive Conservative name. But when you really look at the members of the party, particularly those from the west who once belonged to Reform, you realize that they are actually not conservatives, but the old Social Credit party! Hell, Preston Manning, who started the Reform party, is the son of the original founder of the Social Credit Party. They are the ultra-right-wing crowd that make the US Republicans look like socialists!
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