Dawson Strategic

One of the largest criminal anti-dumping cases in U.S. history involved honey laundering. Dubbed as ‘Project Honeygate’, the product was imported illegally from China to avoid duties of more than 200%, and some of the honey was even adulterated with antibiotics! The investigation resulted in charges of about $3 million. That’s a buzz-kill for anyone [...]

On April 12, 2013, the Mowat Centre of the University of Toronto and the Canada-U.S. Law Institute of Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland successfully launched the Council of the Great Lakes Region (CGLR).  Dawson Strategic played a key role in the inception of this organization. While still maintaining DS client work, Laura Dawson will serve [...]

By Jeffrey Phillips, Energy Consultant and Guest Contributor The terms “game changer” and “revolution” are typically used to describe the shale gas phenomenon in North America, and rightfully so.  The combination of horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing (or ‘fracking’) has made the recovery of natural gas from shale economically viable, leading to increased natural gas [...]

Since Dawson Strategic is active in both US and Canadian policy issues, we could not help but be caught up in the drama and speculation leading up to the US presidential elections. Laura honed her punditry skills as a recurring election panelist on CTV’s Powerplay.  Host Don Martin and various US panellists were a lot [...]

Dawson Strategic is pleased to announce the formation of the Canada-US Motor Coach Passenger Coalition (MCPC) to streamline the movement of motor coach passengers across the Canada-US border. The Beyond the Border Action Plan announced by Prime Minister Harper and President Obama in February 2011 announced plans to work towards pre-clearance for passengers and cargo [...]

In response to the demographic pressures of the baby boom generation entering retirement and the labour market demands of Canada’s surging energy sector, the Government of Canada is using immigration policy to fill labour market demand.  Permanent resident programs are being reconfigured to focus on skills-based criteria for admission and temporary foreign worker (TFW) programs [...]

If RIM is targeted by foreign investors, the Canadian government will face tough choices regarding net benefits to Canada and implications for national security, argues Laura Dawson.  In a commentary for the Macdonald-Laurier Institute entitled Potash and BlackBerries: Should Canada treat all foreign direct investment the same? Dawson argues while the sale of Canada’s flagship intellectual property (IP) company to a foreign [...]

In an OpEd published in ipolitics.ca, Stefania Bartucci and I argue that  while US actions on KXL have awakened Canada to the need to seek new energy markets on its own terms, but good politics are not always good business. Canada and the U.S. share both the problems and profits of the oil sands. Few would argue [...]

The Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness Action Plan (a.k.a the Canada-U.S. Border Plan) looks like a great deal but the devil is in the details. Sustained political attention is needed to make sure that commitments are met.  Here’s Dawson talking about the deal on CTV News , quoted in Huffington Post, and in Canadian Press. [...]

With the new US-Canada border deal attracting so much attention in Canada, my Canada Institute colleague Paul Frazer and I thought it was important to generate some attention in the U.S., especially in border communities where better access to Canada for traders and travellers translates into easier participation in cross-border supply chains and regional economic growth. With presidential elections looming, it [...]