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To: Grampa Dave
Canada is becoming as much of a PIA as their role model, France.

It may be time to start boycotting them.

GD - While I am in the midst of moving from one part of the state to another, and thus don't have a lot of time at the moment, but I've given a little thought to this and I offer it up for what it is worth.

A lot of our Canadian imports come from extractive industries - oil, gas, lumber etc - yielding fungible commodities which are inherently difficult to differentiate in terms of national origin once they are inside our borders. The Canadians also have transplanted factories, sort of like the ones in Mexico just south of the border, which turn out goods for American companies, such as automobiles. There are, I think, some conglomerates up there into a variety of things, alcoholic beverages being one of them. They, no doubt, have some other products, of which I am, at this moment, blissfully unaware. And finally, there is, I believe, quite a bit of cross-border North American tourism, along with some at-destination shopping.

In other words, for boycott purposes I think their economy is similar to the French economy in the sense that there are a few easily identifiable products, such as Molson's beer, but their biggest immediate vulnerability is tourism. I live in a tourist area (SW Fla), and one thing I've learned about it is that it is almost all profit for the destination, primarily because there is no cost of manufacture. The impact of a cut in tourism is not diluted by being spread out, in dollar terms, over suppliers and insurers and so forth - a cut goes directly to the bottom line. Empty hotel rooms, empty restaurant tables, and so forth. In addition, there is no time lag - is goes directly to the bottom line right now, not when the US supplier doesn't order more Molson's a few months downstream because he can't sell what he already has on hand.

So, until a list can be drawn up of Canadian goods to boycott, the easiest and quickest way to hit them squarely in the pocketbook is to simply stop going there and spending money.

28 posted on 04/21/2003 9:49:54 AM PDT by surely_you_jest
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To: surely_you_jest
I agree about the tourism, particuliarly to their eastern provinces and cities where most of this stuff comes from.

When we don't go to Canada as tourists, there is an immediate negative impact on their economy.

I know of Steelhead fly fishers who will not be going to Canada for the first time in decades.

Also, any sweet heart timber, minerals or energy deals made by the Clintoons that favor Canadians should be be rendered null and void. I hear that there are hundreds of such deals.

To back up what you are saying about travel boycotts having an immediate impact. The UK and Americans have started cancelling vacations and meetings in France. The economic impact has been significant with a 25% drop in vacation business from just the UK. The beneficiary has been Spain for the most part and then Italy.
31 posted on 04/21/2003 10:16:33 AM PDT by Grampa Dave (Being a Monthly Donor to Free Republic is the Right Thing to do!)
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