Those damn yankees
Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin demands the US crackdown on guns and will raise the issue with Condi Rice:
Guns are Prime Minister Paul Martin’s newest target in what seems to be a deliberate and continuing attempt to take some careful pokes at the United States.
Following on his increasingly hot rhetoric on the Canada-U.S. softwood dispute and vague hints about using precious oil as a bargaining chip in the trade wars, Martin is now making clear that his government is going to draw a line with the United States on guns as well.
“There is an estimate by the police that up to 50 per cent of the gun crimes in Canada are done by people with guns obtained in large part illegally from the United States,” Martin told an Ottawa news conference yesterday as he outlined his government’s still-developing plans to get tough on firearms crime.
Where do the other 50% come from? Say, wasn’t that billion dollar boondoggle registry of yours supposed to cure all ills? More:
“The Americans ask us to do things in terms of the border and the security at the border is very important for Canada and our ability to provide the Americans with their comfort in that area is something that we will do. I think that there is an obligation on their side to work with us to prevent gun smuggling into Canada,” Martin said yesterday. Up until now, the Prime Minister had been treating the growing concern over firearms crime as a domestic issue, even a Toronto-only issue.
Maybe if you secured those borders then, you know, those evil guns wouldn’t bet getting in? I mean, I’m just thinking out loud and all but seems that 50% of the illegal guns there come from the US would have had to cross the border.
October 26th, 2005 at 9:16 am
I’m amazed it’s as low as 50%. I thought 3/4 of everything in Canada was made in the USA.
Maybe we ought to restrict the sale of drugs made or developed in the USA to Canada (at government-mandated low prices that leave Americans paying the whole cost of drug development) to no more than 50% of the Canadian market. Let their socialist healthcare system develop the other half for themselves…or they can cross the border and pay for healthcare here at market prices.
October 26th, 2005 at 12:19 pm
Maybe we ought to restrict the sale of drugs made or developed in the USA to Canada
Ah, spouting the drug industry talking points aren’t we? Drug manufacturers have no obligation to sell their drugs in Canada..the fact that they do suggests that it is profitable to do so. But gotta love the government…they give drug manufacturers anti-free market guaranteed monopolies (err, I mean patents) and help them enforce them, but regulating prices would be communism.
SU..this is the whole pissing match back and forth. The Americans spout this crap about border security and letting bad people cross from Canada into the US, so Martin is just spewing crap back. Both sides need to STFU.
October 26th, 2005 at 2:28 pm
Manish:
It doesn’t cost much more to develop a new drug for sale in the U.S. and Canada than it does to develop one for sale in the U.S. alone, so it ought to go without saying that once the R&D costs have been recouped here, of course it will be profitable for the drug companies to sell even more pills in Canada, Mexico, and every other country that will allow them to charge at least one penny above bare manufacturing costs. If the U.S. copied those countries, mass manufacturing of existing drugs would still be profitable, but development of new ones would not be.
October 26th, 2005 at 4:25 pm
“I thought 3/4 of everything in Canada was made in the USA.”
If you only knew how much of what you buy is made in Canada! LOL
Like, Ford, GM and Chrysler, not to mention Honda and Toyota.
Most Americans think they import their oil from Arabia, in fact it comes from Canada.
I can’t remember the last time I went into a store and saw “made in USA” on the label.
“Maybe we ought to restrict the sale of drugs made or developed in the USA to Canada”
Apparently you don’t realise what a huge R&D sector exists in Canada.
Maybe we ought to restrict the sale of drugs made or developed in Canada to the USA.
October 27th, 2005 at 12:23 am
Canadian dignitary to raise the issue of gun control with Condi Rice…
Y’know, the Prime Minister of Canadian has every right to raise the issue with a US official,
just like he can raise any other issue he wants. But if it’s not
too much trouble, I’d like to request at least one news camera be
positioned to record…
October 27th, 2005 at 12:24 am
The Internet: Made in USA.
October 27th, 2005 at 2:46 pm
[…] You know, some smart cracker said the same thing yesterday. […]