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@evan Yes. It's very strong diplomatic support against all the "51st state" provocateurs.
@evan Canada borders on two EU countries, so why not?
@evan I think I should not vote in this poll because I am ignorant of the nuances involved. I'm interested to see the results.
![Chris [list of emoji]](https://nfts.freeradical.zone/accounts/avatars/109/127/168/397/951/576/original/e8a0b6da977923a8.jpeg "Chris [list of emoji]")
The US has become an unreliable trading partner, and this will continue to be the case long after orange man is buried. Canada needs functional trade relations; the EU is the best fit values-wise.
@evan Someone should probably define what an "associate member" is first.
If this is just a workaround to get CETA's nastier sides pushed through (copyright nonsense, bypassing courts in weird arbitration schemes), then the answer is a resounding no.
But with a vague term like "associate member" anything is possible. So who knows. Maybe it'll be something sensible.
@evan Yes but we should find out what that means before making any final decision.
@evan No, but like keep up the informal co-operation so that both sides need to continue to work on the relationship. I do think we could do with looking at harmonizing some standards. For example, elevators cost 3 times as much in North America because we force them to be bigger for good reasons but the overall effect of buildings forgoing elevators may be detrimental to those purposes and generic housing needs.
@evan I'm most interested in the EU as a free-trade partner, and Canada already has a free-trade agreement (provisionally) with the EU. There are of course other ways Canada and the EU could work together productively, but also ways in which Canada would give up sovereignty to little advantage (e.g., joining the customs union, or aligning with the Euro). We'd have to look at the details of what's proposed.
No, but.
@evan We already consider them our Nordic cousin on the other side of the pond.
/Swede
Does this mean you'd be joining us in the EFTA?
@spraoi nobody is sure!
@evan after carefully considering the linked article, I'm firmly for it, in part because it would set up the presidence necessary for the funniest possible (albeit very improbable) future outcome: the united states of america joining the EU
@evan As a Canadian, I'm against it. The European Union does not tend to reflect my values and many of their states are trending towards fascism.
I think trade agreements would be healthy, but not joining a union on the other side of the Atlantic, with states that are a tiny fraction of the size of our provinces.
It's a massive power imbalance.