[Rev_Blair]

$1:

Canada losing the U.S trade would destroy our economy.

You're pushing the myth that we would lose their trade though. It simply wouldn't happen. They would come to the table and bargain. There might be short-term trade war, but we are well-placed to survive that. The US is not.

[Dan74]

It's being pushed on us with the same old excuse, trade is king and we have no say. Fuck that. Make the Americans use a card to get into Canada or maybe we won't be able to trade with them anymore.[/quote]

I was argueing your point.YOur hatred for the U.S is just getting to the point of racist.Everytime somebody mentions a point about the states that is not degrading towards them you pounce.Calm yourself and try to see other points.
You made me take a harder look at proportional Representation and it has some great points I still feel that it will weaken the direct relationship between the MP's and the voters but does have alot of good points.
I am opening my horizons but you still hold on to your rage.

[Rev_Blair]

Dan, You're missing the entire point. The Americans come to the table prepared to play hardball. We send a t-ball team.

If they say we need cards, then we insist they do to. If they say they will continue to impose illegal tariffs, then we link it something that will really hurt them, such as putting the same export tax on energy going to the US. In other words, we need to play hardball too. They won't like it, but in the long run they will respect it.

That isn't going to stop trade. They still need our resources because without them they lose their economy, they still want access to our market.

[Dan74]

And with that you have a point with which I will not argue sept to say that is not the Canadian way.It should be but not.

[Rev_Blair]

What we are doing now is the Conservative way though...it's what the corporate honchos want. It very much comes out of what Mulroney did. Martin is on the same plan. So is Harper. We've been watching this not work for over twenty years, so we keep doing the same thing.

[QBC]

Robair Robair:

I cross the border a lot. Never had a problem. Once you do it a couple times, you know what documents they need where and if you've got 'em ready you pretty much walk right through.

And I'm a 20 something single male. The most suspect group of them all.

So the card thing to make it easier to cross the border doesn't make sense to me.

That's a good thing Rob........glad they never caught you taking all that BC bud across that I keep sending you.......OOOPS....did I give it away?..........LOL

[Richard]

QBC you shit disturber

[canadian1971]

Hey UBC Do you go through Calgary lol Were all links in the chain here My brother works at a boarder crossing!!!

[QBC]

Canian1971...........I already knew that.........

[Kristina21]

We don't even have a choice (Canada). We should all be treated equal; but our exsistance depends upon the US. We only have so much resisantance in reality. Its sad. I love Canada, and I wish we had more pull, but when I go to the border, I get treated worse because I am Canadian. So, I do agree with the international passport, but only because I feel repressed.

[Ruxpercnd]

I would be very careful about feeling hassled at the border because you're Canadian. Americans get worked over also. After many years I broke down and got a passport - that helps.

But oh man! I bought a bag of apples in B.C. and didn't think much about it until I hit the border going back. We were pulled over into a special lane, got delayed for about an hour as our vehicle was thoroughly searched. Maybe they were looking for grapes? We Americans know it's a lot harder to go home than it is to visit B.C.

[Telkwa]

Kristina21 Kristina21:

We don't even have a choice (Canada). We should all be treated equal; but our exsistance depends upon the US.

That's what big business wants you to believe. It's just not true. I agree with the Rev; the US would be a much better neighbour if Canadians would stand up to them. Canada has a choice. We can have our independence, or we can suck on the American teat. We do far too much sucking.

[Kristina21]

Telkwa, I think you missed everyones point. How are we suppose to stand up to them?? They say, I want your power or your water or whatever, We say "no" They say, fine then we don't want your lumber. So we cave. The States is our big brother (not Marx) and a bully and can do whatever they want to us with threats to our existence. As sad as it is, it is blatantly obvious we would have no defence and we would have a hard time sustaining ourselves to the existence we have come to know. Some of you speak of a "war" of trade. That will never happen for this very reason. Our government is not in power long enough to do anything really constructive and we'd throw 'em out if they tried to put us in a depression, even if it helped us in the long run.

I spend a lot of time in the US and have a lot of US friends and most of them are ignorant and believe that the line of the boarder is elavated line into their country. They are passionate people that don't even really know what they are passionate about. So when Bush says something, their t-ball team is suddenly soldiers filled with passion and ignorance.

It is hard to stand up to a brick wall that chooses not to listen. I also think it a bad idea to threaten the force behind the brick wall since passion and ignorance seem to equal power. Its like cancer (sit and think about it, the way cancer works), it could take over. The whole thing scares me.

[Telkwa]

Kristina21, I understand your position and see some merit in it, but I do think that we can retaliate in ways that make Americans see what they are doing. For example: American border security now fingerprints Brazilians; in response, Brazil now fingerprints Americans. At first, Americans were shocked; now they accept tit-for-tat. Canada has far more room to maneuver than most of us believe.

When the US started playing their dirty games with softwood lumber, we could have responded imediately by putting a massive export duty on raw logs; or prohibiting the export of raw logs altogether. The US dumps everything from movies to tv programs to magazines into the Canadian market and we don't say boo. Watch the price of lettuce; in the summer, when home grown lettuce is available, California lettuce is cheap; in February it's extortionate. They dump in the summer and bleed us in the winter. We can stop that if we want to.

If the Americans are going to have two hour lineups going south across the border, we can have two hour lineups coming north. We can use exactly the same excuses. They can't attack us for doing what they are doing too.

We can tie in future agreements to them solving present ones. They want more oil. Fine. Solve softwood lumber, beef, lettuce, movies, etc. first. Then we deliver the oil; not before.

Canada can also loudly and clearly stay out of the War on Terror. And, to some extent, we can condemn it. Switzerland, which borders on Germany, stayed out of WWII. Canada stayed out of Vietnam. I catagorically reject any insinuation that Canadians must send their children to kill and be killed so the corporate elite can make bigger profits. We can stay out of Tom D'Aquino's vision of a North American common market. And we can stay out of the American security blanket paranoia.

[Ruxpercnd]

Telkwa... If America seems like a brick wall, I must admit Canada is not on the radar screen for most of us. However, I think you are wrong to snipe at the Arsenal of Democracy.

- We should fingerprint everyone including Americans and Canadians. We just want to know who you are. No sense in letting Ramsey Youseff waltz into our country whenever he wants. Fingerprinting is can be done electronically these days - it painless.

- Softwood lumber - yea that's just stupid protectionism... bring on the lumber. If Americans want to work in lumber mills, let'em go to Canada.

- movies, tv, magazines... don't buy them if you don't like'em. BTW, I dearly wanted to subscribe to Ski Canada magazine... started filling in the internet form... shipping doubled the cost, I bailed. I hate this border stuff where mailing a magazine is such a big deal! If you can get Time magazine, why can't I get Ski Canada?

- Lettuce is expensive for everyone in the Winter, duh!

- There is no special border line for Americans. We have the same waits that you do. Get a clue.

- America has always supported competitive global oil prices, we don't get any special deals. Many countries levy really high taxes on gasoline against their own citizens. That makes it appear that America somehow has more access. I would be happy to run our cars on corn alcohol. Then what would you do with your oil?

- I am so happy Canada is immune from terrorism. God Bless you and may Allah preserve you.

- Switzerland wasn't as neutral as they advertised. Swiss banks happily confiscated money from the bank accounts of murdered Jews and accepted gold teeth from murdered Jews for deposit. Yea, that's neutral all right. Switzerland is awash in Nazi blood money. Think about if someone could murder your family, take everything you own and stash it in Switzerland, isn't that neat? The Swiss are vampires sucking blood from murdered families.

- God bless Canadians for storming the Beaches of Normandy and defeating Nazism. They paid for your freedom. Think about it.

- Glad Canada stayed out of Viet Nam, we should have also. We make mistakes. I lost friends I grew up with. I still cry about it. Americans can feel true regret for mistakes.

- Why not a Common Market? I just don't feel a crying need for protectionism. Let's talk about free trade, fair trade. Worker rights, etc. Hell, we are buying goods made by Chinese slave labor, inhumane East Indian and Pakistani child labor, Nicarauguan sweat shops. I just can't imagine why we would have a problem with Canadian goods. Bring it on! Damn! The Chinese are cutting organs out of folks to sell on the world market, how's that for free trade?

So what exactly did America do to you?