Why Canada Should Join the EU • Hacker News Board

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#81

Post by skissane » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:25 PM UTC

nobodywillobsrv wrote: post #7

The biggest problem with the EU is that it is built for bureaucrats and as such it is geared towards irreversible "blob" decisions. Brexit should have been a near no-op. But it was a huge pain. They hadn't even planned for it or thought about it. EU should have a pre-memeber clearing state that countries stay in and then vote every year or n years to be "in" or "out" of the EU. But part of being in the EU should be t…

> Brexit should have been a near no-op. But it was a huge pain.

How was it ever going to be a "near no-op"? Putting everything else aside, Northern Ireland was always going to be huge sticking points. Ireland would make sure it was.

Besides, it was in the EU's self-interest to maximise the pain for the UK, in order to discourage other member states from going the same way - and the EU succeeded. Marine Le Pen no longer talks about "Frexit", instead she proposes reforming the EU from within.

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#82

Post by JodieBenitez » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:26 PM UTC

BJones12 wrote: post #8

> Europeans could learn from Canada how to allow immigration in a fashion that the population embraces rather than tolerates Clearly the author is ignorant. Canadians are sick of immigration. Young Canadians doubly so. Racism is becoming more acceptable by the day.

For a moment I thought that was satire. Canada has its share of "multicultural" problems. And that's on top of french speaking people vs. english speaking people.

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#83

Post by cmrdporcupine » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:26 PM UTC

BossingAround wrote: post #9

If Canada joined the EU, they would have a TON of immediate immigrants, ranging from manual labor (e.g. plumbers, builders, cleaners, factory workers, ...) up to knowledge workers (e.g. software engineers, doctors, nurses, ...). Not sure what that would do with Canadian economy. IMO it would be even more desirable target for emigration than the UK when it was in the EU. I know I would certainly consider it, being a s…

Canada's points-based system already makes it pretty easy for the latter category to come here. To the point where people in our profession have highly depressed compensation packages when compared to the US because our job market is very much flooded with inbound foreign talent.

Domestic trained talent tends to leave for the US. Because under NAFTA it's trivial to do so.

Manual labour, yeah, that's another story. NAFTA doesn't grant free movement of unskilled labour at all.

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#84

Post by atmosx » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:26 PM UTC

gjsman-1000 wrote: post #29

fabiofzero wrote: post #26

[flagged]

Bigger problem is that Russia and China would hate it.

I don't believe either of these statements is accurate. Russia agreed to Ukraine joining the EU but not NATO, why would it be any different for Canada? The EU is China's largest trading partner, accounting for around 20% of China's exports. Adding Vancouver’s port to the EU market could significantly enhance trade between the EU and China. However, the real issue lies at the geopolitical level – the EU is heavily influenced by the US, and with Trump aiming to initiate a trade war with China, tensions are likely to escalate.

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#85

Post by ripbozo » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:27 PM UTC

wesselbindt wrote: post #74

aborsy wrote: post #66

Canada will do much better joining US (and distancing itself from declining EU and its disastrous policies). The US is much better managed; the results speak for themselves.

I truly cannot tell whether you're joking. If you're not, I'd love to pick your brain. I'm very interested in what standards you have and why you have them.

The user also calls unions a cancer on society, that tells you everything you need to know.

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#86

Post by PaulDavisThe1st » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:27 PM UTC

nobodywillobsrv wrote: post #7

The biggest problem with the EU is that it is built for bureaucrats and as such it is geared towards irreversible "blob" decisions. Brexit should have been a near no-op. But it was a huge pain. They hadn't even planned for it or thought about it. EU should have a pre-memeber clearing state that countries stay in and then vote every year or n years to be "in" or "out" of the EU. But part of being in the EU should be t…

Ah yes ... in addition to all the existing bureacratic costs of the EU, we should add "constantly maintain a parallel set of rules so that member states can leave easily and cheaply whenever they want".

Why on earth would the EU do that? Why would any organization put in huge effort to ensure that its members could easily and cheaply leave at any time?

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#87

Post by jasoneckert » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:27 PM UTC

aborsy wrote: post #66

Canada will do much better joining US (and distancing itself from declining EU and its disastrous policies). The US is much better managed; the results speak for themselves.

The opposite would be better for the US. If the US joined Canada, they could benefit from universal healthcare, schooling, and responsible gun laws within a short period of time, given the available resources that would be added to the Canadian system.

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#88

Post by _7acn » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:27 PM UTC

gmueckl wrote: post #68

_7acn wrote: post #52

As someone who has lived in the EU for over 20 years, I can say that the Schengen Area is a fantastic thing, whereas the EU itself is a disaster. Civilized countries should join the Schengen Area but avoid joining the European Union (these are two separate things). They should take an example from Norway, Iceland, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein - countries that are part of Schengen but not in the EU. Joining the Euro…

Factually, the claim of complete loss of sovereignty is just dead wrong. This list details the division of responsibilities between the EU and member states: https://commission.europa.eu/about/role/law/areas-eu-action_... This shows how narrow the responsibilities of the EU actually are.

Instead of reading the documentation, let's answer three questions:

1. Can your country introduce any law without asking the EU for approval? 2. Can the EU mandate your country to implement a specific law? 3. Do you still believe your country is sovereign?

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#89

Post by flessner » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:27 PM UTC

EU needs to clear out its own backyard first, kick Hungary out... Orban has brought nothing but chaos and costs.

After that, why not? Turkey has been in discussion for ages and is barely in Europe. Also, South Africa might be interesting in the future if they can see eye to eye on political and economic issues.

Re: Why Canada Should Join the EU

#90

Post by cmrdporcupine » Fri, Jan 03, 2025, 10:28 PM UTC

glitchc wrote: post #36

Hot take: Canada should join the US.

Does that come with a few trillions in reparations for lands confiscated from Loyalists who were forced to flee to Canada at the end of the American rebellion? Or for the Mohawk who fled here and helped us fight the Yanks off in 1812?