Dan416
Senior Member
You can grow tired of the argument all you want, but it's still a valid piont. There's a big difference between a country giving up sovereignty to a collection of medium sized powers that offset each other, and to the most powerful superpower on the planet. You've never heard about the US demanding that we give up certain things because a common border has never been seriously discussed by our leaders. But monetary policy is one thing people have suggested be merged, especially before 9/11. As for the other policies, there's already pressure from Washington to change all kinds of our laws, from immigration to prison sentencing to drug laws. You really don't think that would get more intense if we opened up our borders? You think they'd make concessions for us like increasing gun control? The EU is a good system for Europe, but there are good reasons it hasn't happened anywhere else.
As rbt has already pointed out, the bedlam at Pearson would have been worse if our borders were open. I doubt very much that an open border would be good for the economy. It would make our economy even more tied to theirs, which would have made this recession even worse. We should be getting less reliant on the United States, not more, and that's exactly what's been happening the last few years.
The United States will never open up the border with Mexico. The differences between the two economies are simply too great. The only way that could possibly happen is if Mexico got a handle on its crime problem and developed its economy to the point where it's as rich as the US or Canada. That's not happening anytime soon.
Talk of a common dollar has nothing to do with a common border, as I already illustrated. One doesn't require the other and vice versa. Some countries are part of Schengen, but not part of the Euro currency (e.g. Switzerland, Denmark, Monaco, Czech, Norway, Estonia, Hungary, Poland) whereas others are part of the Euro currency, but not part of Schengen (e.g. Cyprus, Ireland). So bringing up monetary policy and common currency really doesn't affect the common border one way or the other.
Mexico is a different can of worms. But at least if Mexico was part of the common border, Canada would have a counterbalance on the other side of the US.
I don't see anything wrong with breaking down borders to movement and trade between the US and Canada. There's nothing stopping Canada from increasing trade with China and India as well. Who else would you rather we do business with, anyway? Burma? Liberia? Sudan?
There's also been talk of having free trade with Europe. I believe this should be pursued as quickly as possible. Hell, Canada should sign the Schengen agreement itself. Why do we need any border controls between Canada and Europe anyway? People should be able to live and work wherever the hell they want in the Western world.