Buy American Special: Open Skies for Canadian Firms?

Last evening Judy Bradt contacted me suggesting that we bump our scheduled 3rd segment in the 7-Part "Seven Steps To Success" Series on winning government contracts. According to Judy, a Washington-based expert author on government contracting practices, the Canadian Government will announce today: * A BAA waiver on the remaining stimulus money and, * a Canadian "sign-on" to the WTO 37-State access (something Bradt indicates other countries already have in place Given the above news I am of course inclined to agree. That said the regularly scheduled series will resume on March 1st, with a Special Buy American segment airing in its place today. Key areas upon which Judy will focus include: * to what degree will the ARRA waiver be retroactive, and at what point in the procurement process will there be meaningful access for Canadian firms. * the significance of WTO 37-State access, which Bradt has referred to as a "major" win for the Canadian water, wastewater, HVAC, construction and building supplies firms. Having followed this story extensively, including the September 30th, 2009 broadcast of a special Buy American segment on the PI Window on Business in which I was joined by both a guest panel and Canada's Trade Minister Stockwell Day, this should be both an interesting and insightful show.