Well, I see them as a friend willing to buy stuff from you, even if you bitch and moan about them.

   

Japan was a friend willing to buy stuff from the US during the second world war. Germany bought arms from the Bush family and used them on Canadian and US soldiers during the second world war.Iraq and Bin ladin were supplied weapons , including chemical weapons, by the US. Did that make them friends? Some friends.<br /> Your logic is warped.<br /> Brent

   

[QUOTE BY= Brent Swain] Japan was a friend willing to buy stuff from the US during the second world war. Germany bought arms from the Bush family and used them on Canadian and US soldiers during the second world war.Iraq and Bin ladin were supplied weapons , including chemical weapons, by the US. Did that make them friends? Some friends.<br /> Your logic is warped.<br /> Brent [/QUOTE]<br /> No, it's sensible, considering Canada does a substantial amount of trade (i.e. 85% of our exports going to them) with Americans.

   

The US decision to ignore it's NAFTA agreement clearly shows the folly of relying on a single market for so much of our goods and the folly of relying on any such agreement with them. The old Foreign invesment review agency of the Trudeau era should have ben the foreign invesment diversification agency. It's time we learned the lessons of history and made a serious effort to diversify our markets.<br /> Brent

   

[QUOTE BY= Brent Swain] The US decision to ignore it's NAFTA agreement clearly shows the folly of relying on a single market for so much of our goods and the folly of relying on any such agreement with them. The old Foreign invesment review agency of the Trudeau era should have ben the foreign invesment diversification agency. It's time we learned the lessons of history and made a serious effort to diversify our markets.<br /> Brent[/QUOTE]<br /> <br /> I agree with you brent it's time to start finding new trading partners.<img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/wink.gif' alt='Wink'><br /> <br /> Armageddon we have 85% of our trade with america because our right wing policians threw our economy to the united states on purpose so that they could and can make us feel as though we are nothing without free trade with America.<img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/frown.gif' alt='Frown'> <br /> <br /> Americans buy our stuff because they need it and would have a hard time coping without it! 20% of energy used in America comes from Canada I would really love to see Americans survive without our oil.<br /> <br /> Stephen Harper can say that America is our best friend but I'm quite sure anyone who reads this would agree that normally when you say that someone is your best friend they in return say the same thing back to you. You never hear bush or the ambassador saying canada is our best friend or simply just a friend. Americans use us and our pathetic Liberals and Conservatives let them. <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/evil.gif' alt='Evil'>

   

[QUOTE BY= Brent Swain] The US decision to ignore it's NAFTA agreement clearly shows the folly of relying on a single market for so much of our goods and the folly of relying on any such agreement with them. The old Foreign invesment review agency of the Trudeau era should have ben the foreign invesment diversification agency. It's time we learned the lessons of history and made a serious effort to diversify our markets.<br /> Brent[/QUOTE]<br /> Hey, no arguments here.<br /> <br /> [QUOTE BY= dino] I agree with you brent it's time to start finding new trading partners.<br /> <br /> Armageddon we have 85% of our trade with america because our right wing policians threw our economy to the united states on purpose so that they could and can make us feel as though we are nothing without free trade with America. [/quote]<br /> Actually, the way I see it, Canada and the U.S. seemed to be pretty threatened by the Soviet Union, so as history tells us, allies cooperate more fully in times of trouble.<br /> <br /> [quote]Americans buy our stuff because they need it and would have a hard time coping without it! 20% of energy used in America comes from Canada I would really l<br /> ove to see Americans survive without our oil.[/quote]<br /> America's outgrowing itself. Clearly Canada takes advantage of this, and our prosperity shows it. <br /> As for providing energy to the Americans, I wouldn't care if they got it or not. However, they're willing to pay a price higher than the Chinese or anyone else for our energy. And that's what matters.<br /> <br /> [quote]Stephen Harper can say that America is our best friend but I'm quite sure anyone who reads this would agree that normally when you say that someone is your best friend they in return say the same thing back to you. You never hear bush or the ambassador saying canada is our best friend or simply just a friend. Americans use us and our pathetic Liberals and Conservatives let them. [/QUOTE]<br /> Really? Here's an example.<br /> <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/30/bush-briefing041130.html">Close to the middle</a><br /> Ooooooo, even "honoured ally" to boot. <br /> <br />

   

[QUOTE BY= Armageddon] [QUOTE BY= Brent Swain] The US decision to ignore it's NAFTA agreement clearly shows the folly of relying on a single market for so much of our goods and the folly of relying on any such agreement with them. The old Foreign invesment review agency of the Trudeau era should have ben the foreign invesment diversification agency. It's time we learned the lessons of history and made a serious effort to diversify our markets.<br /> Brent[/QUOTE]<br /> Hey, no arguments here.<br /> <br /> [QUOTE BY= dino] I agree with you brent it's time to start finding new trading partners.<br /> <br /> Armageddon we have 85% of our trade with america because our right wing policians threw our economy to the united states on purpose so that they could and can make us feel as though we are nothing without free trade with America. [/quote]<br /> Actually, the way I see it, Canada and the U.S. seemed to be pretty threatened by the Soviet Union, so as history tells us, allies cooperate more fully in times of trouble.<br /> <br /> [quote]Americans buy our stuff because they need it and would have a hard time coping without it! 20% of energy used in America comes from Canada I would really l<br /> ove to see Americans survive without our oil.[/quote]<br /> America's outgrowing itself. Clearly Canada takes advantage of this, and our prosperity shows it. <br /> As for providing energy to the Americans, I wouldn't care if they got it or not. However, they're willing to pay a price higher than the Chinese or anyone else for our energy. And that's what matters.<br /> <br /> [quote]Stephen Harper can say that America is our best friend but I'm quite sure anyone who reads this would agree that normally when you say that someone is your best friend they in return say the same thing back to you. You never hear bush or the ambassador saying canada is our best friend or simply just a friend. Americans use us and our pathetic Liberals and Conservatives let them. [/QUOTE]<br /> Really? Here's an example.<br /> <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2004/11/30/bush-briefing041130.html">Close to the middle</a><br /> Ooooooo, even "honoured ally" to boot. <br /> <br /> [/QUOTE]<br /> <br /> how is the soviet union threatening Canada? <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/rolleyes.gif' alt='Rolling Eyes'> <br /> <br /> Also Americans buy our oil for so cheap that Alaska has the sense to sell oil to their fellow americans for more! Why doesn't Canada sell it to America for the same price that Alaska is selling it to their own people? It's because we gave up so much control through NAFTA that we can't sell oil to America at a higher price then we sell it to the Canadian people. <br /> <br /> Can you find me a country on earth that would be so pathetic to sign a trade agreement that basically lets another country buy our oil at dirt cheap price? <img align=absmiddle src='images/smilies/evil.gif' alt='Evil'>

   

Worldwide the tide of public opinion is turning against the concept of free trade.Lets hope the panacea fad that it was passes soon.<br /> Brent

   

[QUOTE BY= dino]how is the soviet union threatening Canada? [/quote]<br /> "Was". They're in the past now, but come on, how was the Soviet Union threatening to Canada. Let's see, I don't know, spread totalitarian communism throughout the world, including Canada? And with the U.S. as our neighbor, it looked a lot better to go through us. <br /> <br /> [quote]Also Americans buy our oil for so cheap that Alaska has the sense to sell oil to their fellow americans for more! Why doesn't Canada sell it to America for the same price that Alaska is selling it to their own people? It's because we gave up so much control through NAFTA that we can't sell oil to America at a higher price then we sell it to the Canadian people. <br /> <br /> Can you find me a country on earth that would be so pathetic to sign a trade agreement that basically lets another country buy our oil at dirt cheap price? [/QUOTE]<br /> Would you be so kind to provide links, or at least the proper google wording? I've tried, but I've come up with mostly unsuccessful searches. <br /> <br /> [QUOTE BY= Brent Swain]Worldwide the tide of public opinion is turning against the concept of free trade.Lets hope the panacea fad that it was passes soon.<br /> Brent<br /> [/quote]<br /> Ok, links, polls, the whole shabang? Face it, trading blocs are coming out all over the globe. More and more are being proposed every year. It is foolish to think they will go away "soon".

   

The attemps to get a free trade zone of the Americas was defeated at Cancun and elsewhere. South Americans foirmed their own fre trade aggreement to keep the US colonialism out. Now they are talking about forming Petro America which would include most of America except the US.75% of south America has elected socialist governments to block US economic expansionism into therest of America.<br /> US ignorance of the dispute settling mechanism in NAFTA has undermined the credibility of any free trade agreements signed by the US, and thus the concept of free trade aggreements in general. Any aggreement signed by the US has proven to not be worth the paper it's written on.<br /> They flatly refuse to reimburse Canada for duties it collected on softwood lumber,. which were ruled illegal by the NAFTA panel time and time again.<br /> Like Ghengis Kahn and Atilla the Hun, the Soviets proved incapable of managing their own affairs let alone ours . The Soviet Union is an example of the inevitable collapse of vast plans( like globaslisation) conceived with half vast ideas.<br /> Brent

   

[QUOTE by Brent Swain]</b> US ignorance of the dispute settling mechanism in NAFTA has undermined the credibility of any free trade agreements signed by the US, and thus the concept of free trade agreements in general.<b>[/QUOTE]<br /> Not <i>ignorance</i>, but <i>disregard</i>. I have no doubt that my government is well aware of the NAFTA dispute resolution mechanism, and has chosen to work around it. As you’ve stated, the end-run undermines claims of negotiating in good faith.

   

[QUOTE BY= Brent Swain] The attemps to get a free trade zone of the Americas was defeated at Cancun and elsewhere. South Americans foirmed their own fre trade aggreement to keep the US colonialism out. Now they are talking about forming Petro America which would include most of America except the US.75% of south America has elected socialist governments to block US economic expansionism into therest of America.<br /> US ignorance of the dispute settling mechanism in NAFTA has undermined the credibility of any free trade agreements signed by the US, and thus the concept of free trade aggreements in general. Any aggreement signed by the US has proven to not be worth the paper it's written on.<br /> They flatly refuse to reimburse Canada for duties it collected on softwood lumber,. which were ruled illegal by the NAFTA panel time and time again.<br /> Like Ghengis Kahn and Atilla the Hun, the Soviets proved incapable of managing their own affairs let alone ours . The Soviet Union is an example of the inevitable collapse of vast plans( like globaslisation) conceived with half vast ideas.<br /> Brent[/QUOTE]<br /> Now, I agree with pretty much all of this, except for the whole Petro America thing. That just seems to be something Chavez is cooking up for the rest of South America, not the whole of South America.

   

[QUOTE BY= Brent Swain] I've sometimes heard it said that the US is Canada's best friend.
I recently heard that the US is thinking of withdrawing all it's troops out of Afghanistan, leaving Canada holding the bag.The main cause of recent problems in Afghanistan was the US redirecting it's resources to Iraq, before the job was done in Afghanistan, leaving the Afghan effort undermaned.
Now with Canada being forced to do battle there , we are losing our credibility as a peacekeeper.
So what kind of friend is the US? Clearly the kind of friend who would invite us out to a bar for a few drinks, run up a huge bar tab, start a fight with the locals , then sneak out the back door and run like hell, leaving them to beat the crap out of us and hand us the bar bill.
The US is clearly intending to cut and run from the mess they got us into in Afghanistan, and set us up to take the blame when the shit hits the fan there. Just like the cowardly little friend with the big mouth , offering to buy the beer in the bar.
Some friend!!
Brent [/QUOTE]

   

Let"s push Canada toward Europe and expose <br /> USA to the cold from the north