In Our View: Canadian PM Like One of Us

By accident of geography, Washingtonians have an abiding interest in most things Canadian.

We are, after all, neighbors. Vancouver USA is closer to Canada than it is to California, a fact that has led to long-standing economic, environmental and cultural synergy between Washington and our neighbors to the north. Canada, for example, is this state’s second-biggest international trading partner, ranking behind China.

So it is that this week’s election of Justin Trudeau as Canada’s new prime minister is noteworthy on this side of the border.

That is due, in no small part, to a need for the United States and Canada to renovate the Columbia River Treaty. The treaty between the federal governments was signed in 1964, creating dams along the upper reaches of the mighty river to provide electricity and flood control. The Columbia begins as a stream in the mountains of Canada before working its way through Washington, past Vancouver’s doorstep and eventually to the Pacific Ocean. There are 274 hydroelectric dams in the Columbia River Basin. The original agreement was for 50 years. After that, either nation can give notice that it intends to pull out of the deal, and the United States signaled earlier this year that it is ready to begin negotiating a revamped treaty.

Needless to say, the world has changed a great deal in the past five decades, and U.S. officials have indicated they will focus on environmental issues in developing an updated treaty. U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Camas, said: “The Columbia River is central to our way of life in Southwest Washington. Pursuing a new Columbia River Treaty with fair and equitable benefits between the United States and Canada is imperative to securing the future benefits the river brings to our communities — affordable, clean hydro energy; flood management; navigation; irrigation; and ecosystem-based management.”

In that regard, the election of Trudeau and his Liberal Party is encouraging for the interests of Washingtonians. He is a Westerner who taught high school in Vancouver, B.C., and his values appear to align with those of the Northwest.

Not that any of that will make revamping the treaty an easy task. The U.S. review of the agreement has involved representatives from four states, 15 Native American tribes and 10 federal agencies. And any new deal must address items that were not on the radar 50 years ago, such as ecosystem management; the future of wild salmon; water quality and temperatures; traditional tribal fisheries; and environmental alterations brought about by climate change. It also must adjust the “Canadian Entitlement,” which provides Canada with hydroelectric power worth about $250 million annually as payment for the construction of three large flood-control reservoirs.

It is a vast jigsaw puzzle, but it must be completed. One massive flood along the Columbia River would make the $250 million Canadian Entitlement seem like pocket change, and it is worth noting that the original impetus for the Columbia River Treaty was the devastating Vanport flood of 1948.

All of that means that Trudeau’s election is promising news for the Northwest. He embraces the kind of young, energetic progressivism that plays well in Washington, supporting a farsighted energy policy, free trade and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, legalized marijuana and the rolling back of Canada’s more stringent anti-terror measures. When it comes to issues that matter to Washingtonians, Trudeau is practically one of us, and that is encouraging for the future of the Columbia River Treaty.