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[primroseburrows]

wtf Canada?

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[lorem_ipsum]

*mouth flaps silently*

*vague hand gestures*

*mouth flaps*

[fspider.livejournal.com]

I was reading around Christmas last year that b/c of the new, extensive US databases, Canada's denying entry to more and more people. These were more recent arrests, but the article was talking about people who'd be cited for pot in the '70s being turned back, even if they're previously been able to get in, no problem.

Canada seriously needs to reevaluate what resources (and how crappy they are on this end) they're using to allow entry, but with Stephen Harper around - don't hold your breath!

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

I was reading around Christmas last year that b/c of the new, extensive US databases, Canada's denying entry to more and more people.

Gods, who knows how many lists I've been on. I belong to antiwar groups and all (and isn't the whole issue ironic in an awful, cringeworthy way?)

Canada seriously needs to reevaluate what resources (and how crappy they are on this end) they're using to allow entry, but with Stephen Harper around - don't hold your breath!

It looks like he might be around for quite a while if the Liberals don't get their heads out of their asses and support the Throne Speech. Because now? Is not a good time, y0. *shakes them*

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Uses best Geoffrey Tennant voice: Stephen Harper is an idiot.

[deafscribe.livejournal.com]

*sigh*

My first thought was that perhaps Canada was blindsided when the U.S. started adding peace activists to a database intended to track violent felons and the like.

But under Harper, it's just as likely they have been fully aware all along and agreed to cooperate with Cheney & Co.

The one positive effect I can see from this is that it could reinvigorate political protest here in the U.S., if people realize that moving to Canada may not be an option if things get even uglier here.

I must say I was baffled when Canadians elected a conservative leader, after years of seeing the results of conservative thinking in the States. But maybe their election was distorted too.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

But under Harper, it's just as likely they have been fully aware all along and agreed to cooperate with Cheney & Co.

I think this is the case. Harper wants to live in the Dubya's back pocket. I'm not usually a conspiracy theorist, but more and more I'm thinking that there might be a whole lot of truth to what the Council for Canadians are saying about Deep Integration. I highly rec Maude Barlow's book Too Close For Comfort. It may sound alarmist, but I think there's a lot of truth in this rumour.

Also, from what I've read a lot of the plans (such as the no-fly list, further cooperation with the US on trade, etc.) happened under Liberal governments, so it's not ALL Harper, as much as I'd like to blame him for everything.

The one positive effect I can see from this is that it could reinvigorate political protest here in the U.S., if people realize that moving to Canada may not be an option if things get even uglier here.

Maybe. Hopefully. I think that most people who say they're moving to Canada don't end up going. Also, the situation's been bad and getting worse for years and political interest is still in the toilet. I'm hoping against hope that the emigration situation doesn't get too much more restrictive.

I must say I was baffled when Canadians elected a conservative leader, after years of seeing the results of conservative thinking in the States. But maybe their election was distorted too.

I don't know about distorted; I hope not. It seems like part of the reason might have been disappointment with the Martin Liberals.

[sam80853.livejournal.com]

WTF, indeed.

::hangs head and sighs deeply::

Oh, Canada ...

[fspider.livejournal.com]

Any other civilized country would be looking at the kind of people we detain and thinking - hey, I want those people!


Oh, I caught an As it Happens the other week w/ Stefan Dion and his accent of awesome gettin' all aggressive about that. I haven't paid attention enough to be able to tell when would be a good time, but Harper hasn't done anything to *really* piss off the public, and Dion "coalition" in not supporting would be 1/2 Party We're Actively Organizing Against and 1/2 Party We're Sorta Alligned With But Who Knows How Long That Will Last. This is not a recipe for victory in my book. I swear - watching the left in up north is like watching the left here about 10 years ago, when we were all fractured and so caught up in our own ideas we couldn't even be in the same room. And look what we got. But it's worse up there, because there's power - a D is a D is a D, but nobody up there can stand to suck it up and lose power for the greater good.

(See Canada? Let the cranky young American fix your politics for you!)

[bjohan57.livejournal.com]

Looks like Harper is bending over for Bush. How passé.

Here's something frightening: Even Tom McLaughlin didn't go that far.

[fspider.livejournal.com]

Oh! I have more comments!

RE: Deep integration - it was about a month ago, when the order to allow Mexican truckdrivers on US roads came down, but that had the far-right freaked about Deep Integration (except they call it the North American Union - same basic idea, except the far-right version has some classy xenophobia in it, and apparently our Great and True Americaness is going to be corrupted by the Mexicans. Canada doesn't get much thought.). With the left up there and the right down here - makes me think there's more to it. And the logic of Barlow's arguments is so persuasive.

Also, did you hear about how, in response to INS crackdowns, US pro-immigrant groups are sending undocumented immigrants across the border?

[bjohan57.livejournal.com]

And on that note:

It’s that terrible push and pull in Canadian history from Pearson to Mulroney singing ‘Irish Eyes' to Trudeau basically telling the U.S. to fuck off. Canada is uniquely positioned in the world as being the closest partner to the U.S. If we can hang on and have our own independent voice, we can have a considerable influence.”

and if you don't have that independent voice, then you're screwed.

[dragonflymuse.livejournal.com]

Well, while I don't agree with what happened, Canada is between a rock and a hard place when it comes to those American policies. We might not like them or agree with them, but due to the political relationship our countries have, we are obligated to follow them.

Quite honestly, there are only so many times and ways we can balk on American policy when it comes to border security. If the American government wants to act like a pissy brat with the people who don't agree with their policies and politics, there is little Canada can do about it, diplomatically speaking.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Stefan Dion and his accent of awesome

I heard that one! Accent of Awesome ftw! I was in my car and I sat there like a dork until the interview was finished. I swear, I could listen to him read the phone book, like All. Day.

Not to mention that Dion may be reallyreally smart but he's not Andrew Carnegie. The guy needs a PR makeover. I mean, I like him, but, um. Me liking him means less than nothing. (I'd love to sit him down and feed him some cocoa and cookies, he's got that kind of vibe). I was really hoping that the Liberals would win in whatever that riding is in Québec that's been Liberal for years and was a Major Test of Dion's leadership. IIRC, the NDP won that one, and that made the party look even more chaotic and disjointed. The Liberals remind me of the Democrats now, even. They need to all be on the same page (I don't think they are, really; they're just all on the side of People Who Hate Republicans).

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

If the American government wants to act like a pissy brat with the people who don't agree with their policies and politics, there is little Canada can do about it, diplomatically speaking.

And I really think that's the bottom line of it, which is why my mood was 'disappointed' rather than 'pissed off'. And now the Three Musketeers want the SPP so Canada and Mexico can get even more chummy with US policies and the US can impose even more of their rules and regs. Grr, Argh. I really think that the US wants to take over the planet, or at least make the planet conform to their specifications and "values." If guns don't work, economics will. If there are common policies, you can bet that most of them will be the policies of the United States and not Mexico or Canada. It really is Rome all over again.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

I don't understand the right-wing mentality when it comes to deep integration. I'd love to join a left-leaning group that opposes the SPP and all that unification stuff, but there doesn't seem to be any American group around. The Council for Canadians and The Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives are the only groups I've seen that are actively working to change things, and they're not exactly local. I can't exactly keep running off to Ontario for meetings, y'know? So I read a lot. :/

And the logic of Barlow's arguments is so persuasive.

It really is. I haven't seen anything in the news to refute what she says but I have seen a bunch of stuff supporting it.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Here's something frightening: Even Tom McLaughlin didn't go that far.

Nah, he just dissolved the entire country.

[primroseburrows.livejournal.com]

Well, that's the problem, right? The US is this Great Big Giant Thing that wants everyone in the world to Do As It Says, including, especially its neighbours. Especially its natural resource-rich neighbours with all that oil and water and trees.

I'm probably talking out of my arse here because all I'm doing is forming opinions based on what read in books and watch on the news. I'm really just seeing it all through a window; through a glass darkly as it were. I can't imagine what it must be like to actually have to deal with something so big in my back yard, as a government or as a people.

And then there's Mexico, which is a different story all together. Or really the same story, it's just that the places and names are changed and it's in Spanish.