EU Members Approve Free-Trade Talks With Canada

One more nail in the coffin of democracy, in the hands of yet another dictatorship.

Ed Deak.

How in the hell does one conduct free trade with 3,000 miles of ocean between? Where is the GREEN that everyone is buzzing about?

The green is supposed to be in the "foreign investment" clauses the Europeans demand so they can take over our hospitals and schools etc. They had their eyes on Canadian resources for many years, with some still remembering the postwar starvation years, with nothing to work with.

In short, all of these so called "free trade agreements" are a new version of colonization and the Europeans are masters of it, now that they've been kicked out from all their past colonies and no resources at home.

Ed Deak.

And with a succession of governments more than willing to give our stuff away instead of using it as working capital, it is a virtual "done deal".

They're called ships. You should have heard of them, they've been around over 10,000 years.
They're also far more fuel efficient than millions of Kenworths hauling shit around.

How does one make NAFTA and the envisioned EU free-trade agreement compatible ? Are we trying to re-create pre-1997 HongKong as a back door for trade between the really big guys who can't do it officially yet ? Are politicians in Ottawa trying to stealthily distinguish themselves while the whole country is watching US TV ?

Well , if that's a real step towards being our own country (as opposed to a tiny appendage to the US ), why not ?

I love the idea of reducing our dependency on the sinking ship to our south. Time to throw the US out with yesterdays garbage, and find another market for our goods. There is nothing wrong with having so much of our economy foreign owned ,as long as it is not all owned by one country. Not much chance of them taking over our rivers for electrical power, as Gordon Campbells Liberal( Socred ) government is trying to set up in BC. The extension cords would be too long.
The thought of giving Europeans free access to add to our population problem bothers me some, but there may just be more jobs for Canadians in Europe. They don't exactly breed like religious hipocrites.
If we Canadians end up with the same access to French Polynesia as Europeans, and won't have to post that bullshit bond to stay there the winter, I will be spending a lot of winters there.
Anything which reduces our dependency on the US is good news. We don't need tickets on the Titanic.
Brent

Europe has big unemployment problems and no resources to speak of.

Ed Deak.

I've been living in Europe several years now , and I have enjoyed every second of it . Canadians are respected and liked everywhere (except perhaps for England , where we are sometimes looked down as second-class Americans ). As for the resources , come see yourself or at least look at the euro vs the loonie over time . There are many contrasts between countries , of course , but overall Northern Europe is rich and Southern Europe growing . Eastern Europe remains a different story , with good growth , but wealth per capita only around 25% and Russia still considering it its backyard , which makes guys like the Poles fairly nervous and unconditionally pro-American (see their support of Bush on Iraq) as they see the US as their only military protection.

Let me quite honest : I enjoy a week-end in Venice more than one in Dallas.