What did we get out of the North American Leaders' Summit?Immigration reform in 2010. President Obama said he hopes to have comprehensive immigration reform legislation drafted by the end of this year and the debate and vote in Congress in 2010. For those working on Latin America issues, it's hard to look at that long timeframe inching close to the November 2010 elections and be hopeful. Yet, for opponents of immigration reform, they're going to be disappointed it's on the agenda at all and will be gearing up for battle.
A united front on Honduras. All three presidents reiterated their opposition to the coup and their support for the return of President Zelaya. All three gave support to the OAS efforts and President Arias. Interestingly, both PM Harper and President Calderon stepped up to strongly defend President Obama's approach on Honduras, with Harper going after the "hypocrisy" of those who demand more US action on Honduras while criticizing US cooperation with Colombia.
Energy and the Environment under-covered again. All three leaders spoke about energy and the environment in their statements to the press and in their final declaration from the meeting. This was a top priority for the three leaders and their governments, but the media barely mentioned it. The three countries said they had found common ground for a position at the Copenhagen meeting at the end of the year (and both Harper and Obama praised Calderon's leadership on that issue). They pledged to "build capacity and infrastructure" on future emissions trading systems and pledged research and development funds to a smart grid that would be interoperable among the three countries.
Little movement on three key issues. Trade, security and combating H1N1 were clearly high on the agenda for all three leaders. However, in spite of the focus, there weren't any major new agreements or initiatives announced. That's not necessarily a bad thing. As I wrote yesterday, it can be seen as a positive sign that there is an uneventful ongoing dialogue within North America on key issues that doesn't need exciting new initiatives announced at every meeting.
