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US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance

bbc.com

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Re: US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance

#71

Post by SpicyLemonZest »

cmrdporcupine wrote: post #55
amanaplanacanal wrote: post #51

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think they are afraid they are going to get creamed in November, but for some reason they are more afraid of the president. They might not be wrong about this, the president is known for siccing the department of Justice on his political enemies.

As a Canadian watching from a distance the fact that the administration and its congressional allies etc don't seem to be concerned at all about what is going to happen in November gives me a lot of apprehension about what they might know that is not being stated publicly. Midterms coming up and prosecuting an endless "war" that doubles gas prices, and not seeming concerned at all about the blowback? What's up with t…

Once you accept that Trump is literally senile, a lot of things click into place. Why does he seem unable to predict obvious consequences of the actions he takes? Why does he fixate on random mean words and repeat them with no regard for normal political strategy? Why does he randomly fall asleep on camera?

When he says that he has no reason to worry because the polls show everyone loves him, I think he genuinely believes that.

Re: US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance

#72

Post by [deleted] »

daveguy wrote: post #18
nemomarx wrote: post #5

It's not an unfair reaction to the main entrance being closed, but it is a little sad. The northern border used to be so much more flexible and I don't see any real benefits from doing all this.

To a wannabe authoritarian, fear and uncertainty are benefits. They love to flex in shitty ways.

[deleted]

Re: US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance

#74

Post by engineer_22 »

greggoB wrote: post #58
stuxnet79 wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Believe me an open border would do nothing but increase xenophobia. Canada is dealing with its own immigration crisis with a ton of newcomers DDoSing the overextended healthcare system and real estate market.

Europe has open borders and this hasn't facilitated any increase in xenophobia that I'm aware of, despite many countries having many immigrants. South Africa by contrast does not have open borders, and is currently going through another bout of violent xenophobia. I don't think these two things are specifically related.

> hasn't facilitated any increase in xenophobia that I'm aware of

My friends in Europe describe the situation differently

Re: US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance

#75

Post by Scoundreller »

mothballed wrote: post #45
Scoundreller wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Funnelling “problems” to known points is better than pushing those problems to any of a bazillion other points. But i guess ticking “we did something” checkboxes keeps the paycheck deposits flowing.

Apprehensions on the northern border usually want to be found, as asylum claims. Anyone who wants to cross illegally at the northern border could easily do so since forever. So in this case the bazillion other points land in Canada, since those that wanted to illegal into the US from the North always could. That's a "win" for the US from the perspective of the administration.

> Apprehensions on the northern border usually want to be found, as asylum claims

Not anymore, not right away anyway:

> The new terms allow each country to expel asylum seekers who apply for protection within 14 days of crossing the U.S.-Canada border between ports of entry.

https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/blog/us-canada-ex...

Re: US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance

#77

Post by totony »

stuxnet79 wrote: post #49
josefritzishere wrote: post #43

All of North America should have open borders like a Schengen zone. This xenophobia is bad for the economy.

Believe me an open border would do nothing but increase xenophobia. Canada is dealing with its own immigration crisis with a ton of newcomers DDoSing the overextended healthcare system and real estate market.

Canada DoS'd its own healthcare. I'm mostly familiar with Quebec but the overextended healthcare system is mainly our own doing, so is housing shortage.

Re: US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance

#78

Post by highpost »

sowbug wrote: post #30

Related: episode 653 of 99% Invisible mentions Peace Arch Park, which is along the US-Canada border in Blaine, Washington, and Surrey, British Columbia. Anyone from either country can enter the park and mingle with people from the other country. There's supposedly strong incentive, because of a treaty from the War of 1812, for both countries to keep their side of the park open: If Canada broke the treaty, in theory,…

We went to Peace Arch Park several times during COVID to visit relatives in Canada. And then I noticed the tents on the eastern edge of the park. What's that all about? I called it the End Zone. Couples separated by the border would meet there. One park ranger said he saw things he couldn't unsee...

Re: US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance

#79

Post by martey »

sowbug wrote: post #30

Related: episode 653 of 99% Invisible mentions Peace Arch Park, which is along the US-Canada border in Blaine, Washington, and Surrey, British Columbia. Anyone from either country can enter the park and mingle with people from the other country. There's supposedly strong incentive, because of a treaty from the War of 1812, for both countries to keep their side of the park open: If Canada broke the treaty, in theory,…

This is a good story, but you can read both the Treaty of Ghent (which ended the War of 1812 while keeping the US-Canada border the same) and Rush-Bagot (which restricted naval fleets on the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain). Neither document states anything about the border needing to remain open or without barriers.

The podcast's transcript suggests that their source for this is https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/peace-arch-u.... The person confidently claiming that any closure of the park would result in catastrophe is an immigration lawyer, not a historian:

"Saunders said the treaty stipulates there could not be any boundaries or physical barriers erected on the northern border of the U.S. — and if either side violated that treaty — the boundaries revert back to pre-treaty."

Since the Treaty of Ghent restored the pre-War of 1812 borders of both the United States and Canada, this doesn't make any sense. Canadian historian C. P. Stacey states that the period after the War of 1812 actually saw more border fortification than the years before (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1840618).

I mentioned that the idea that a 19th century treaty keeps the US-Canada border demilitarized was a good story, but I think the truth is an even better one: that the border is demilitarized because both countries know that they can trust their neighbor. Let's hope it stays that way.

Re: US-Canada border library gets new Quebec-only entrance

#80

Post by [deleted] »

buckle8017 wrote: post #38
nemomarx wrote: post #5

It's not an unfair reaction to the main entrance being closed, but it is a little sad. The northern border used to be so much more flexible and I don't see any real benefits from doing all this.

Canada allowed millions of temporary foreign workers in. Unfortunately the border actually needs to be more sealed.

[deleted]
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