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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

#51

Post by cmrdporcupine »

watwut wrote: post #31
BobbyJo wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn't color relying on a historical ally that either produces, or is the transit corridor for, most of your food with "everything to lose". The current trade spat is an issue, and Canada should react accordingly, but the reality is that, even with tariffs, the US still represents a very profitable trade partner, especially when they can levy tariffs of their own.

The issue is not limited to tariffs. There is consistent hostile rhetoric against Canada by multiple members of administration. And by hostile I mean threats of annexation, demands that Canada gives USA parts of its land and false accusations. Tariffs are only part of the issue. They seem the be the first USA step meant to weaken Canada economically before USA proceeds to steal from from it.

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 exactly doing anything to calm tensions.

We faced heavy tariff threats under 1.0 and it wasn't anything like this. The reaction here isn't really about trade at all. It's about sovereignty.

The US is the only country that has ever invaded us.

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

#52

Post by sjsdaiuasgdia »

cynicalsecurity wrote: post #12

This dynamic isn’t really good. I understand Canada didn’t start it, but I really don’t like these dynamics.

How do you think Canada should react to a neighboring country that not only unilaterally declared a trade war but also continues to threaten to annex them?

Appeasing bullies does. not. work.

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

#54

Post by amanwithnoplan »

adamgordonbell wrote: post #42
nullorempty wrote: post #36

[flagged]

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.

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

#55

Post by bobthepanda »

soperj wrote: post #49
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.

Trans-Canada regularly closes? That's news to me. The reason google maps goes through the US is that it's significantly shorter. We also don't haul things regularly across the country in the same way they do in the US, we use the trains, and the majority of things would go through ports. If you're on the eastern half of the country (which is the majority of the country) they use the great lakes.

Trans Canada has a lot of non-dual carriageway segments and single points of failure.

In 2016 there was a bridge failure that resulted in large detours: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipigon_River_Bridge

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

#56

Post by FredPret »

I've seen two apocalyptic North American scenarios in fiction, and have previously dismissed both as ridiculous.

1. In the Fallout universe, the USA annexes Canada

2. In at least two Neal Stephenson novels (Snowcrash and Termination Shock), the USA has collapsed.

I've never before thought that either of these would have a semi-realistic path to actually happening.

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

#57

Post by dylan604 »

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.

That's the fun kind of trivia that only a Canadian would know.

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

#58

Post by mig39 »

hypeatei wrote: post #27

I don't understand any of the justifications for a trade war with Canada. IIRC, Trump was fudging numbers by only including the "goods" part of "goods & services" so the deficit looked worse than it actually was (assuming a deficit is even bad in the first place) It's also bewildering that Trump literally negotiated a trade deal in his first term with Mexico and Canada but is now saying we're getting screwed? Is this…

Canada's market is 10% of the USA. Of course there's going to be an imbalance in trade. Trump doesn't understand this, and he thinks that it means that Canada (the government) is literally ripping off the USA.

Just like he doesn't understand that tariffs are paid by the buyer, not the government of the seller.

Finally, the current trade treaty between Canada-USA-Mexico was negotiated by Trump himself, and it replaced NAFTA. When he says it's a bad deal, why is nobody pointing out that he negotiated it? And famously said it was the best trade deal in history.

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

#59

Post by cmrdporcupine »

soperj wrote: post #49
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.

Trans-Canada regularly closes? That's news to me. The reason google maps goes through the US is that it's significantly shorter. We also don't haul things regularly across the country in the same way they do in the US, we use the trains, and the majority of things would go through ports. If you're on the eastern half of the country (which is the majority of the country) they use the great lakes.

It's also not actually true there's only one. To get through northern Ontario, sure. But there's also the Yellowhead all the way from Winnipeg to Haida Gwai, and plenty of highways that connect to Hwy 2 from there.

Trans-Canada is a highway system, not a single road.

It's true that the stretch from Kenora to Sault Ste Marie is a vulnerability. It's tough terrain.

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

#60

Post by echoangle »

bobthepanda wrote: post #55
soperj wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Trans-Canada regularly closes? That's news to me. The reason google maps goes through the US is that it's significantly shorter. We also don't haul things regularly across the country in the same way they do in the US, we use the trains, and the majority of things would go through ports. If you're on the eastern half of the country (which is the majority of the country) they use the great lakes.

Trans Canada has a lot of non-dual carriageway segments and single points of failure. In 2016 there was a bridge failure that resulted in large detours: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nipigon_River_Bridge

I wouldn’t call „it closed once in 2016“ regular closure, that actually seems pretty reliable.
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