An American Senator with more than passing knowledge of Canadian/American relations has no patience for the idea of a fence along the Americans' northern border.Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said the proposed wall would alienate one of America's staunchest allies and potentially cripple trade between the two nations.
"Have we gone blind? It is clear that those who want to build this have no clue about the character, the history and the day-to-day commercial importance of the northern border and the needs of the states and the communities being affected," said Leahy. "It would be best to nip this foolishness in the bud before Congress wastes more tax dollars on another boneheaded stunt. America can do better than this."
I do have to say, I agree with the Senator. Canada and the US have a relationship that is unprecedented in world history, on both cultural and economic levels. The proposal for a northern fence is poorly conceived, poorly researched, and displays a dismaying lack of knowledge both of the degree of the supposed danger and the very real damage that it would create.
Leahy, though, said a fence would do more to disrupt trade than protect the U.S. from harm.
"Heavens to Betsy. Most of us who live up there go back and forth all the time. We are visiting our relatives," said Leahy, who said his wife's family lives in Canada. "You know, these are not terrorists. I have heard some cockamamie ideas during my time in the Senate, but this rises to the top."
Technorati tags: Border fence, Patrick Leahy
2 comments:
Right you are!
I have been a "NAFTA Yo-Yo" my entire career. An experiece not unlike bungie jumping, only without a net.
Basically, you hired in the US as a Canadian, and get catapulted (fired) back across the border the moment you get down/right-sized.
This latest example of foriegn policy now threatens to cut the bungie itself, and replace it with barbed wire.
Europeans were at each other's throats only a generation ago. They now embrace open borders.
This idea makes North Americans look like feuding hill-billies.
Truly, we can do better.
I don't think a border fence, virtual or barbed, would make a significant difference in employment "bungees" (nice little image that). But I think it would have very little impact on the movement of terrorists, and insufficient impact on the flow of drugs southward and the flow of guns northward to justify the expense. Those are real problems, but there have got to be better, more efficient ways of dealing with them. Ways that don't make us look like feuding hillbillies (liked that image too) and don't sour the relationship needlessly.
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