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Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

washingtonstatestandard.com

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Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#211

Post by rchaud »

maxwell wrote: post #48
andy_ppp wrote: post #7

I’m surprised all the countries the US is trying to bully aren’t considering moving to the Euro as the reserve currency (even China might go along with this). It would be so damaging for the US they might actually understand they have been benefiting from a win-win situation since the end of the Second World War.

On the contrary, a weaker dollar would make exports more competitive and imports more expensive, thus realigning trade balance. https://www.lynalden.com/fraying-petrodollar-system

This is a strategy for low income countries in a race to the bottom, not rich ones. So maybe circle back to this in 5 years.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#212

Post by raydev »

a-priori wrote: post #8
yatopifo wrote: post #4

That makes perfect sense. It puzzles me why supporters of the current US regime think Canada won’t resist the US. Be it a trade war or a military invasion, Canada will make the cost so great that it may eliminate the US from the world arena. Canada has been cornered and has nothing to lose at this point.

It's incorrect to think of Canada as being "cornered" here nor having "nothing to lose". It's the US that's isolating itself. Canada isn't 'cornered'. It has the entire rest of the world to talk to and make deals with. It has everything to lose by continuing to rely on the US, which is why you're seeing such a hard pivot toward Europe and Asia.

> It's the US that's isolating itself. Canada isn't 'cornered'. It has the entire rest of the world to talk to and make deals with.

Yes, but any of those deals will pale in comparison to the opporunities Canada has with the wealthiest next door neighbor in the world. The oceans aren't nothing, the culture differences aren't nothing (no matter how small you try to make them with other Commonwealth countries).

Losing the US as a friend is a massive loss, and nothing will match it.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#213

Post by jpambrun »

Suppafly wrote: post #77
Brusco_RF wrote: post #32

What a lot of commenters cheering this headline might not know is that there is only one single internal road connecting east and west canada which regularly closes. Most commercial routes go through the US. Don't believe me? Route Ottawa to Vancouver in google maps. This move would amount to throwing rocks from a glass house.

> Route Ottawa to Vancouver in google maps. I'm not sure this is evidence of anything that you're claiming. Google routes based on criteria you choose, typically 'fastest' or 'most fuel efficient', that does nothing to prove that other routes don't exist.

After "avoid tolls", google will have to implement a avoid "hostile countries"..

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#214

Post by rchaud »

andy_ppp wrote: post #7

I’m surprised all the countries the US is trying to bully aren’t considering moving to the Euro as the reserve currency (even China might go along with this). It would be so damaging for the US they might actually understand they have been benefiting from a win-win situation since the end of the Second World War.

They would have to unwind USD denominated investments, which make up a large chunk of many pension and sovereign wealth funds' portfolio. This can't be done overnight, but over a few years, definitely possible.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#215

Post by dc396 »

blackeyeblitzar wrote: post #141
cmrdporcupine wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Exactly this. It's interesting watching how Americans are talking about this issue vs Canadians. Even my liberal friends in the US think it's more "Silly" and "Troll" behaviour on Trump's part -- "you're not taking that seriously, are you?" Yes, we're taking it seriously. It wasn't some one-off tweet. He's the official head of state and silence from the rest of the GOP and the US political class generally isn't exact…

> The US is the only country that has ever invaded us. Who is “us”? Surely we need to acknowledge that Europeans invaded Canada in the first place? The “us” that can make claims about having been invaded likely is just the indigenous people of that land. Of course, this applies to America as well. I do wonder what causes all of us to view a certain set of borders as the “correct” one. I also do the same thing. > Yes,…

> Who is “us”?

Canadians, of course.

> Surely we need to acknowledge that Europeans invaded Canada in the first place?

No. Europeans (and others) "invaded" North America. The sovereign country called "Canada" didn't exist until the mid-1800s. Even the name didn't appear on maps until the mid-1500s and the indigenous peoples who lived in North America at the time certainly didn't consider themselves a part of a unified nation by that name.

> I do wonder what causes all of us to view a certain set of borders as the “correct” one.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westphalian_system

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#216

Post by JeremyNT »

a-priori wrote: post #8
yatopifo wrote: post #4

That makes perfect sense. It puzzles me why supporters of the current US regime think Canada won’t resist the US. Be it a trade war or a military invasion, Canada will make the cost so great that it may eliminate the US from the world arena. Canada has been cornered and has nothing to lose at this point.

It's incorrect to think of Canada as being "cornered" here nor having "nothing to lose". It's the US that's isolating itself. Canada isn't 'cornered'. It has the entire rest of the world to talk to and make deals with. It has everything to lose by continuing to rely on the US, which is why you're seeing such a hard pivot toward Europe and Asia.

> It has everything to lose by continuing to rely on the US, which is why you're seeing such a hard pivot toward Europe and Asia.

The problem is, this kind of pivot would take a long time and be extremely difficult. Out there in the real world, real Canadians have a lot to lose.

The US strong-arming its allies in this way puts them in a massive bind near term. Canada could eventually adapt to a different world order with reduced reliance on the US, but it would suffer a recession (or worse) in the process.

They have no good options here, because how can you really deal with a madman? (In a game theoretical sense [0], if not also a literal one) - but I think the ideal strategy is to acquiesce to the US and pursue these efforts as quickly as they can to remove any reliance going forward.

This is made more difficult by the fact that there seems no obvious way to actually appease the US, whose current goals and objectives are completely opaque.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madman_theory

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#217

Post by hmmm-i-wonder »

blackeyeblitzar wrote: post #198
watwut wrote: post #175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No crime is ever committed by law abiding citizen, by definition. That being said, lawfully acquired guns are routinelly used in crimes. Plus, they make gun owning men (specifically) much more successful at killing themselves. Plus they cause accidents. Guns are waay more likely to be used by tyrants supporters then by anybody else. Case in point, republicans support president dismantling democracy and own more guns.

> lawfully acquired guns are routinelly used in crimes. They are literally almost never used in crime. So “routinely” is false. In fact, I would guess that 99.9% of lawfully acquired guns in America are only ever used in lawful ways. > Case in point, republicans support president dismantling democracy Democracy is not being dismantled. If you’re an American citizen, you still have the right to vote however you want.…

>They are literally almost never used in crime.

It absolutely depends on the type of crime. Domestic murders most often happen with 'legal' guns north and south of the border.

Other crimes, specifically 'aggravated' crimes that involve a weapon however lean the other way where guns are mostly 'illegal' in some way (stolen, smuggled, person doesn't have the right to have due to criminal record or otherwise depending on state/country).

Both domestic and aggravated crimes happen enough that you can justify the use of 'routinely' in both cases. Its ALSO completely true that most legally acquired guns are only ever used legally.

>Democracy is not being dismantled.

- Legal visa holders being deported for criticizing the government - Foreign nationals invited to conferences in the US denied at the border for criticizing the government - Government officials stating they will go against legal/judicial orders - Executive over-reach specifically to remove checks and balances and ensure what remains of government agencies and its staff are loyal to the person, not the president or the country. - Violating multiple laws, overstepping the bounds of the executive office specifically designed to protect democracy and assuming powers of the legislative and judicial branches - Attacking Judges for implementing the law/doing their jobs as part of the above - Professionally and personally threatening members of the legislative branch, state governors and others if they oppose the acts of the President.

Democracy and what democratic protections you have is absolutely being dismantled right in front of you.

>If anything, the end of massive censorship in social media, like was seen in the last 10-15 years, is helping democracy.

I just logged back into facebook after a few years haitus. The majority of what was on there was provably false / fake. Its worse than it ever has been. This is SUCH a benefit to democracy (hint, its not).

While I will agree there has been overreach on censorship, the pendulum swing the other way on top of the enshittification of the internet and the introduction of AI means the average citizen is now less informed and more propagandized than ever. Add in the failings of the US education system and the abysmal literacy rate...

An educated and informed population is bedrock of democracy, checks and balances are its framework. The US foundation has crumbled and its buildings are on fire.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#218

Post by thomassmith65 »

ForTheKidz wrote: post #206
thomassmith65 wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's history: if a person doesn't grade on a curve, every page of the textbook looks the same (ie: people being jerks). In order to deny that England, America, and France spearheaded the modern democratic system (albeit inspired by Ancient Greece), a person needs to explain who did?

> In order to deny that England, America, and France spearheaded the modern democratic system That doesn't mean these governments make any political sense as a democracy today relative to the status quo. Hell, Britain is probably the only government on earth more dysfunctional than America's. At least France refreshed relatively recently; what the hell is Britain's excuse? Even North Korea and Eritrea seem to maintai…

Well, today? No, they're not exceptionally democratic in comparison to other nations – or, at least, not to other Western nations.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#219

Post by Brusco_RF »

SonicScrub wrote: post #162
Brusco_RF wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While you make a strong point, I'm not ready to cede it. Canada has winter storms that will close that road, albeit for shorter periods of time than the boulder situation. Being able to re-route through the US is critical during that time.

I don't really see how the Highway 17 situation is unique in the context of winter storms though. As per the comment above this, most transit of East and West goods occurs via other means, meaning the Highway 17 bottleneck is hardly some vital artery. A winter storm shutting down Highway 401 for example is much more economically chaotic, and has the practical impact of making travel through its corridor impractical (…

My only point was that Canada has more to lose than the US if we start taxing journeys through each others countries. A lot of commenters missed that.

Re: Canada considering charging for road access from USA to Alaska

#220

Post by nullorempty »

amanwithnoplan wrote: post #54
adamgordonbell wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are calling for the invasion of your own country? Surely you realize that is a very fringe view.

https://angusreid.org/trump-carney-51st-state-canada-usa/ ~10% support overall. However, that's 21% of Conservative voters and 1-3% everyone else. So it's beyond fringe for everyone else, but maybe not as much for Conservatives.

didn't hear about this poll. probably cooked.
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