Simon Reisman and Gordon Ritchie were Canada’s official negotiators for the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, but Derek Burney’s talents were crucial to concluding negotiations.
asserted
talents → conclude → negotiations
The perfect next step for Burney was to be Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., maintaining a close eye on implementation.
asserted
step → maintain → implementation
After he arrived in Washington, D.C., in January 1989, Burney tried to keep Americans focused on Canada.
asserted
Burney → arrive → Canada
He nabbed Sen. George Mitchell at a dinner to talk about acid rain, collared White House Chief of Staff John Sununu in a congressional corridor, and buttonholed Lloyd Bentsen, chair of the Senate Finance Committee, on a hotel escalator.
asserted
He → nab → escalator
“Three minutes with a guy like that is important,” Burney told me.
asserted
Burney → tell → me
“It isn’t as much what you engage in at that point, it’s the next time.
asserted
it → engage → point
You’re not approaching him as some question mark.”
asserted
You → approach → mark
Such boldness is essential in Washington with some 200 ambassadors, 50 think tanks, 500 political consultants, and 7,000 lobbyists all chasing the same decision-makers.
asserted
ambassadors → chase → makers
Burney also needed to defend himself.
asserted
Burney → need → himself
A Toronto Star article in the first year quoted an unnamed official in the prime minister’s office saying Burney was bored.
asserted
Burney → quote → office
When the story appeared, Burney invited six Canadian journalists to the embassy.
asserted
Burney → appear → embassy
Few can do outrage like Burney.
asserted
Few → do → Burney
Soup was barely served when he rattled through a list of accomplishments as ambassador:
asserted
he → serve → ambassador
The list completed, he snapped: “It’s hard to be bored if you’re busy,” then paused, daring anyone to disagree.
asserted
you → complete → anyone
Brusqueness came with the territory
But a man’s strength can be his weakness, too.
asserted
strength → come → territory
At 6 feet and 220 pounds, Burney had the heft to defend Canada’s interests, but his brusqueness didn’t always suit the circumstances.
asserted
brusqueness → have → circumstances
He opened one speech I attended in Washington by mocking everyone’s favourite depiction of Canada and the U.S. as “the longest undefended border in the world” by describing it as “the longest undefended cliche in the world.”
asserted
I → open → world
During the question-and-answer session, a student noted that most Canadians lived within 100 miles of the U.S. border.
asserted
Canadians → note → border
Burney interrupted her, snorting: “See what I mean about clichés?”
asserted
I → interrupt → clichés
The young student gamely carried on with a query about seniors’ health care, but Burney had struck a sour note.
asserted
Burney → carry → note
He hoped for an eventual private-sector role that would pay more than his $180,000 annual salary as ambassador, but claimed money wasn’t everything.
asserted
money → hop → ambassador
“I’m more interested in what I’m doing rather than what I’m getting paid.
asserted
I → ’m → what
The draw would be the challenge of trying to do something different and testing myself.”
asserted
draw → try → myself
After Washington, Burney got his wish and was named chairman and CEO of Bell Canada International from 1993 to 1999, followed by CAE Inc. as president and CEO until 2004.
asserted
Burney → get → 2004
Only a few senior civil servants made a similar leap: Ed Clark, Toronto-Dominion Bank; Paul Tellier, CN Rail; Robert Brown, Bombardier Inc.
I caught up with Burney at CAE and watched his demanding approach.
We both clambered into one of the CAE flight simulators.
asserted
We → make → simulators
The operator began the demonstration with a scene from Indonesia.
asserted
operator → begin → Indonesia
“Give me something a little more stimulating,” said Burney, asking for “foggy London.”
asserted
Burney → give → London
At CAE he combined four military units into one and seven forestry companies into two.
asserted
he → combine → two
The 21 profit centres became five, he sold several subsidiaries, and cut the number of people reporting to him from 32 to 11.
Burney admitted to me that he avoided using the word transform because at first he didn’t believe it was possible in a conservative operation.
asserted
it → become → operation
“I’m now talking about transforming the company.
asserted
I → talk → company
A year ago we were having trouble keeping people.
asserted
we → have → people
We’ve got people coming back to us.”
asserted
people → get → us
Challenged Trudeau government’s cosy ties to China
While Burney had said salary didn’t matter, there was much more money in the corporate world.
asserted
salary → challenge → world
But then again came the siren call of the public sector.
asserted
call → come → sector
When Stephen Harper was elected prime minister in 2006, Burney agreed to return to Ottawa where he’d served Brian Mulroney, to head Harper’s transition team.
asserted
he → elect → team
Burney remained a no-nonsense antagonist.
He later challenged the Trudeau government’s cosy ties to China by writing in the National Post, “The litany of apologies and obsequiousness by Canada regarding China is one that only a lickspittle would salute.
asserted
lickspittle → remain → that
Standing up against a brazen bully can be difficult, especially when you are on your knees bowing.”
asserted
you → stand → knees
Burney, now 86, spent his life putting himself out there, saying and doing things he never dreamed he would, all the while seeking the next challenge even further removed from anywhere he’d ever been.
asserted
he → spend → challenge
The Aporia
