PODCAST: U.S.-Canada Trade Relations – What Corporations Need to Know — C&M's First 100 Days Series
Client Alert | 1 min read | 02.24.17
In the latest podcast for Crowell & Moring's "First 100 Days" series, Jim Flood, chair of the firm's Government Affairs Group, sits down with Ian Laird, co-chair of the firm's International Dispute Resolution Group, to discuss the state of U.S.-Canada trade relations. Ian is a Canadian-qualified lawyer and previously served as chief of staff to a Canadian cabinet minister, as well as a senior political aide to the Ontario Minister of Energy. Ian represents companies engaged in U.S.-Canada trade and business relations and has provided counsel on NAFTA issues for more than 15 years. Ian also worked on the earliest NAFTA investor-state arbitrations involving each of the three NAFTA state parties.
Discussed in this 20 minute podcast recorded on Feb. 17:
- Some potential strategies for the Canadian Government and Canadian companies to succeed in working with the Trump Administration.
- Potential “tweaks” to NAFTA with respect to Canada, and redefining U.S.-Canada relations.
- Views of the Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives, and a different approach from the U.S. Senate.
- How Canada's immigration policies might impact business.
- Potential timeline for any changes, and what companies can do now.
Click below to listen or access from one of these links:
PodBean | SoundCloud | iTunes
Contacts
Insights
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.21.25
On November 7, 2025, in Thornton v. National Academy of Sciences, No. 25-cv-2155, 2025 WL 3123732 (D.D.C. Nov. 7, 2025), the District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a False Claims Act (FCA) retaliation complaint on the basis that the plaintiff’s allegations that he was fired after blowing the whistle on purported illegally discriminatory use of federal funding was not sufficient to support his FCA claim. This case appears to be one of the first filed, and subsequently dismissed, following Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche’s announcement of the creation of the Civil Rights Fraud Initiative on May 19, 2025, which “strongly encourages” private individuals to file lawsuits under the FCA relating to purportedly discriminatory and illegal use of federal funding for diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in violation of Executive Order 14173, Ending Illegal Discrimination and Restoring Merit-Based Opportunity (Jan. 21, 2025). In this case, the court dismissed the FCA retaliation claim and rejected the argument that an organization could violate the FCA merely by “engaging in discriminatory conduct while conducting a federally funded study.” The analysis in Thornton could be a sign of how forthcoming arguments of retaliation based on reporting allegedly fraudulent DEI activity will be analyzed in the future.
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 3 min read | 11.20.25
Client Alert | 6 min read | 11.19.25
