Border lawsuit

[pmckenna]

The problem is, who would shut off what? I don't see Alberta saying no the oil revenues. Nor Quebec to hydroelectric revenues. That would leave the feds. At that level, some sort of "tied selling" commodity deal with US would evolve , and formally, not informally. That constitutes an international agreement, would not be NAFTA, and would probably replace NAFTA. And would take just as long as NAFTA did to negotiate (years). Tied selling (like the banks wanted to do with insurance) would create market distortion of unimaginable proportion. And it would not be so easy to get out of when it works against us.
US would be able to manage us more effectively as a resource colony, than they can even now. I'd call that a loss in sovereignty. That's just how I'd see it going, anyhow. With regard to Spain, I doubt they have much to lose in other trade with Ontario. I'd like to see them try that with one of their EU trading partners.

[cowman]

pmckenna: I totally agree with you on not tying other trade goods to beef. Looking at the big picture, beef is literally a pittance in the overall value of goods that pass both ways across the border.
It is all very well to say shut off the gas and oil, shut off the electricity! Not very smart however? What do people think is paying the bills right now(including the cow welfare)? In Alberta our whole economy depends on that revenue...and probably will for as long as any of us are alive?
The whole problem is our useless federal government didn't stand up and insist that the US government live up to the NAFTA rules? Instead they chose to go hat in hand, like a bloody beggar, to Washington and hope the Americans would give us a break! It should be our federal government taking the USA to court...not a bunch of old cowboys!
What have they done? Virtually nothing.
Today what are they doing? More of the same?
Obviously this whole thing is a massive load of political garbage that our government has not handled very well? How about fighting back? Take out full page ads in all the American newspapers explaining the facts...we actually have a safer product than the American product. The American consumer is getting ripped off. The American taxpayer is also getting ripped off. We are about the only country in the world that doesn't hate you...so try treating us like a friend instead of an enemy!
When all is said and done, we have no one to blame for our problems but our incompetent government...which in fact is ourselves! Obviously farmers rate somewhere below just about every other thing in this country? If our own people couldn't care less why should the Americans?