American influence on Canadian politics

[cannabis=freedom]

The American government seems to have too much of an impact on Canadian politics, and it tends to piss me off. The Liberal government we had until last year were somewhat corrupt (who isn't?), but at least they were pretty aggressive in trying to remain independent politically, and stood up for themselves in the softwood lumber dispute.

Then the Conservatives came in (with limited power, due to them having a minority government, but still dangerous), and now they're turning Canada into America's bitch!! They folded like a deck of cards on the softwood lumber dispute: "Sure, guys, we'll accept tariffs, even though it explicitly violates the free trade agreement", and they're also being bullied by the DEA as far as drug policy.

I know that the American argument on the softwood lumber dispute is that all the cheap lumber we exported was a "dumping of foreign goods at too low of prices that America can't compete", but that's just too damn bad. You should think of things like that before you sign a free trade agreement with a country to the north that is rich in resources.

[medicinal]

Then the Conservatives came in (with limited power, due to them having a minority government, but still dangerous), and now they're turning Canada into America's bitch!! They folded like a deck of cards on the softwood lumber dispute: "Sure, guys, we'll accept tariffs, even though it explicitly violates the free trade agreement", and they're also being bullied by the DEA as far as drug policy.

Seems like the conservatives always have an "I've got mine, fuck you" attitude. This free trade deal was set up by Clintons govt., one of the lessor achievements of his era. I'm guessin this was the precursor to the NAU (NAFTA). Be aware that in this scenario, NAU, it is the American worker that will take the hardest hit, We'll be lucky to hold on to what we've got, let alone gain any ground. There are already record forclosures happening here. The good paying jobs are being fazed out and or outsourced, the lessor paying jobs are being taken by illegal aliens. Instead of opening our borders, we should be sealing them and deporting illegals. It is the elites that benefit from the cheap labor and the open borders. The thing is, with open borders comes the criminal element from the south. Here in Vegas, we have a huge mexican gang problem that didn't exist 10 years ago.

[fishman3811]

MED i think the free trade agreement was before clinton i know our prime minister at the time was Brian Mulrohney and he was conservative.But it could of been implemented after Brian but i do know he got the ball rolling .Med free trade is being sold as good for everyone but its only good for corporations,I do feel if you want to sell something in my country you should build it in my country not biuld it in the cheapest possible place and have it shipped here.It would make products more expensive but bye how much who knows?But at least people would be able to have good paying jobs.cannabis-freedom i know what you mean they signed the free trade agreement then they dont honour it bullshit,They will only honour things that is good for them and fuck everyone else.......

[Gatekeeper777]

Dear Canada,
Your cheap natural resources you have to offer is flooding our markets and costing our people jobs, This should be considered an act of ecconomic warfare. Your more liberal cannabis laws are in direct violation of our policy of zero tollerance and your starting to make the DEA's job much harder.Our military (whats left of it) will be dropping by. We will declare you an enemy of the state.
GOD I LOVE SARCASM!

[fishman3811]

Dear Canada,
Your cheap natural resources you have to offer is flooding our markets and costing our people jobs, This should be considered an act of ecconomic warfare. Your more liberal cannabis laws are in direct violation of our policy of zero tollerance and your starting to make the DEA's job much harder.Our military (whats left of it) will be dropping by. We will declare you an enemy of the state.
GOD I LOVE SARCASM!

lol we will be assimilated:rambo: :rambo:

[cannabis=freedom]

The Free Trade Agreement between Canada and America was actually made under President Ronald Reagan (not Clinton), in a meeting with Prime Minister Mulroney in the most fantastic display of ass-kissing Canada has ever done. Fucking conservative PM.

[cannabis=freedom]

Fishman, it's great to see another who is strongly for Canada.

[fishman3811]

yeah fuck free trade if u want to sell something in Canada you should build a factory here to sell your goods.Whats wrong with that?

[VaporDaddy]

Free trade has been an unmittigated disaster for Canadians, save for a handfull of wealthy people.

The American war on drugs affects the freedom of Canadian citizens.

:wtf:

[mrdevious]

IMO, American politics do have a substancial impact on us, but it can't outright smother us. The softwood lumber deal is a bit of an iffy one, but it's better than getting nothing at all. I know it's not close to what we wanted, but then when is an international deal entirely what one side wants? The American's definately screwed us on this one, they generally have a policy of "we're bigger, so fuck you we'll do what we want". The courts did rule in our favour after all. Maybe though, this is the best compromise we could get, and the conservatives just wanted this thing fixed. The Liberals certainly couldn't get a better deal.

On drug policy, yes unfortunately the DEA is going to heavily influence our government's policy. Cannabis will never be legalized or decriminalized under the conservatives, and this primitive system of PUNISH THEM is probably going to take hold. But hey, at least Canadians won't put up with a full-scale American sized drug war, and the Conservatives know it. If they actually took it to the fanatical levels they do in the states, we'd vote their asses out of office so fast. Don't expect anything in the way of progress to appear though.


And I would like to say, in all fairness to the Conservative party, that they are not the "puppet of George Bush" the Liberals try to make them out to be. Right from day one the Liberals have tried to convince us we'd be vicariously voting in Bush by scaring us with the frightening word "Conservative". But the Canadian conservative is much different from the American one, and I think our current government is mostly only going so far as keep relations with our biggest trading partner healthy, not outright letting them rule us.
One of the areas of our armed forces being expanded by this government is the Navy, largely because they want to send Canadian forces into key transport areas in the arctic to maintain Canadian sovereignty, seeing as the Americans have suddenly decided they have a right to our arctic waters.

Point is, Canadian interests are going to come first. They may have some ideological similarities to our southern neighbores, but they're not the bloody Republican party. I've seen some pretty effective actions in the past couple years to improve our economy and increase independence. They've put more into environmental projects in 2 years than the liberals ever could in 13 years. They're massively increasing B.C. ports to increase trade with East Asia, and even went so far as to admit the plan with this is to divert that trade from America. That's not too American-interest friendly.
Alberta Farmers have recieved $2 billion dollars in new subsidies this budget to dig them out of their hole.

I wish I could remember more right now, but it's early and my memory is a bit rusty right now. Anywhoo, I think the important thing here is that we have to remember that America is our ally *gasp*. I know, I know, I'll catch flack for that. But it saddens me that so many Canadians don't base their identity on this nation's greatness, but just on the fact that we're not America. Maybe we should stop hating our biggest trading partner and ally so much, and start focusing on our similarities and work from there. I've been to washington many times when I was a kid, and it's not so easy to hate a group of people when you have to meet them face to face.

[fishman3811]

MRD good point but i dont hate Americans after all they like the same things we do but i dont like their ignorance and arrogance towards other countries.How can you proclaim to live in the greatest country in the world and home of the free when you have to take a drug test to work at burger king good god what a joke.Not to mention all the wire taps and everything im glad i live in a free country and its not just hype.

[cannabis=freedom]

MRD good point but i dont hate Americans after all they like the same things we do but i dont like their ignorance and arrogance towards other countries.How can you proclaim to live in the greatest country in the world and home of the free when you have to take a drug test to work at burger king good god what a joke.Not to mention all the wire taps and everything im glad i live in a free country and its not just hype.

I agree absolutely. I don't believe freedom exists truly anywhere in the world, but I know we have it a lot closer to it than the States does. No one really gives a shit if you're stoned and the laws are basically just falsities to pacify the American DEA, although they're not generally enforced.

[fishman3811]

But with the Conservatives in power they could try to change the MJ sentences to that closer to the states,but being a minority gov that could be risky for them.I like the fact that if u get caught with a shit load of plants under 100 anyway u wont be doing 25 years in a federal pen,shit u wont even get house arrest.At least our country is more sane to MJ and our politicians have a little bit more sense and sees mj as a pretty harmless drug compared to what else is out there.But that could change if the conservatives get a majority gov.

[cannabis=freedom]

But with the Conservatives in power they could try to change the MJ sentences to that closer to the states,but being a minority gov that could be risky for them.I like the fact that if u get caught with a shit load of plants under 100 anyway u wont be doing 25 years in a federal pen,shit u wont even get house arrest.At least our country is more sane to MJ and our politicians have a little bit more sense and sees mj as a pretty harmless drug compared to what else is out there.But that could change if the conservatives get a majority gov.

Agreed. If the conservatives get a majority government, Canada as we know it will fall.

[fishman3811]

Agree what we have now is perfect though.To bad it wont last,but i can see the tories getting a majority the next election.But hopefully im wrong.What part of Canada u in?Im Manitoba