Bipartisan NAFTA advisory board makes sense

The Trudeau government got it right when they appointed two former Conservative cabinet members to the NAFTA advisory board yesterday.

James Moore held a number of portfolios in the Harper government and Rona Ambrose was not only a cabinet member, but also the former interim leader of the Conservative Party.

The moves make sense.

NAFTA negotiations are going to have a major impact on Canada’s economic future and those in Ottawa who choose to make it a partisan issue are putting political self-interest ahead of Canada’s interest.

We’re not used to bipartisan politics in  Canada, not in the past 10 or 15 years anyway, but it’s a good sign that political foes like Ambrose and Moore and former prime minister Brian Mulroney, for that matter, are working with the Trudeau government to get the best deal in these negotiations.

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We have more than our share of political leaders who are content to sit on the sidelines and spout partisan rants against the government of the day, but that behaviour is embarrassing and non-productive.

It’s good to know that some political leaders are better than that; they can set aside their political differences and work together for Canada’s benefit.

Collaboration, not confrontation is how you get things done in politics and thankfully, at least some of our political leaders are astute enough to understand that.