Like Lady Edith of the hit series Downtown Abbey, Prime Minister Harper must feel frustrated that Obama expects him to stand aside while the U.S. courts China and simultaneously wait around for a decision on Keystone. Worse still, there is the fear that Chinese interest in Canada is only a ploy, Beijing using Ottawa to spark Obama's jealousy and get Washington's attention.

One year after Obama and Harper launched an initiative to negotiate border security improvements, the two governments are making good progress. The new border order being negotiated promises to complete the transformation of our border security efforts into effective defences that pose no threat to innocent travel and commerce.