State Reps Take Off for the Great White North

If there’s anything that Republicans and Democrats in the state capital can agree on following the hottest summer in American history, it’s the wisdom of a junket to Canada.

Following a Summer that recorded a record 31 consecutive days of temperatures at 110° or above (shattering the previous record of 18 days set in 1974), Arizona State Representative David Cook (R-7), who chairs the house international trade committee, will be leading a bipartisan delegation on a foreign trade mission to Canada.

In a press release, chairman Cook says, “Canada is our largest contributor to foreign direct investment, and our bilateral trade has been instrumental in driving our economic growth. This mission marks a pivotal moment for Arizona as we endeavor to establish enduring trading and investment relationships across various levels of society and priority sectors.”

According to the same press release, the trip was coordinated in cooperation with the Greater Phoenix Economic Council, the Arizona Commerce Authority, and the Arizona Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

The Arizona delegation will engage with the US Embassy in Ottawa, where it will receive a briefing on economic development, and then meet with groups from the provinces of Ontario and Quebec.

The Arizona Globe has reached out to Rep. Cook to determine exactly when the delegation is going — the press release refers only to “this week — and how long the trip will last, as well as whether the group will have time to do anything fun.

In addition to Cook, the bipartisan group includes Vice Chairman Justin Wilmeth (R-2), committee members Tim Dunn (R-25), Melody Hernandez (D-8), and Mariana Sandoval (D-23), and Michael Carbone (R-25).

And if no one gets my reference in the headline to “take off for the Great White North,” it’s because of anti-Canada bias, not because I’m too old, ya hosers.