Did anyone hear about Canadians

[WNYresident]

Did anyone hear something like Obama doesn't want Canadians working in the USA? Won't be able to go over the border to work here. If that is true when is he going to start shipping all the illegals out ?

[Anotherview]

Did anyone hear something like Obama doesn't want Canadians working in the USA? Won't be able to go over the border to work here. If that is true when is he going to start shipping all the illegals out ?

Res: This might be a reaction to Canada's reluctance to import US goods. We let their goods in freely where as it has not been as easy for us to get our goods into Canada.

[dags]

Res: This might be a reaction to Canada's reluctance to import US goods. We let their goods in freely where as it has not been as easy for us to get our goods into Canada.

Really? Where do you get your info from?

[300miles]

I haven't seen anything about this either. Is there an article on it?
The Canadians, and all our trading partners, are leery about the protectionist tone of the bailout package. But I haven't heard anything about it affecting Canadian workers. I would think NAFTA would govern that anyway.

[Anotherview]

Really? Where do you get your info from?

Hillary Clinton

[Anotherview]

Really? Where do you get your info from?

Here is the information:

Free trade: Blame Canada
Democrats' anti-NAFTA rhetoric resonates with many Pennsylvanians.

By Rachel Pulfer


A stream of men and women in black Steelers ball caps, union jackets and faded blue jeans flows into the David Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh. The Pennsylvania state primary is a week away, on April 22, and a crowd 1,500-strong has come to hear Democratic presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama speak at a forum on the future of American manufacturing. On the agenda: free trade, NAFTA — and how to “fix” them.

This presidential election is shaping up as a referendum on free trade. In one camp are Clinton and Obama, running as trade skeptics; in the other is Republican John McCain, who continues to staunchly support it. Voters are wavering. A large majority — 68% — of those surveyed in a Fortune poll in January said America’s trading partners benefit more from free trade than the U.S. does. The issue came up during the Ohio primary, and it was back — big time — in Pennsylvania. Hillary Clinton is now on record saying she will not only renegotiate NAFTA, she will pull the United States out of the treaty if she doesn’t get terms to her liking.

Given the stark differences between the Democratic and Republican camps on trade, the issue will likely remain a flashpoint until election day. How the candidates’ messages evolve — and how they gain traction with voters — is particularly important to Canada; the U.S. buys 75% of our exports. So, using Pennsylvania as a test case, Canadian Business decided to examine what’s driving the anti-free-trade sentiment, who opposes it, and to what extent the rhetoric jibes with economic reality.

Pennsylvania is among the last of the big states to vote in the primaries. A swing state federally, its governorship also switches back and forth between parties. The polarized political culture reflects Pennsylvania’s economic makeup, split between old and new. Manufacturing remains important, but today’s top employers are life sciences, financial services and education. It’s a microcosm of broader shifts in the U.S. economy.

For the Democratic candidates, Pennsylvania is pivotal. With Obama ahead in the delegate count, Clinton had to win the state to stay in the race. Obama’s campaign closed the gap — until he made some politically ill-chosen remarks in San Francisco on April 6 about how some working-class Pennsylvanians cling to religion and guns to deal with their bitterness about dire economic straits.

The state was once a hotbed of Reagan Democrats, so it’s not surprising that the GOP’s McCain polled close behind his rivals in hypothetical matchups throughout the primary. The front-runner, however, remained Hillary Clinton — with a message that’s categorically anti-free-trade.

At the Pittsburgh convention centre, former host Scott Paul announces that Republican McCain has a “scheduling conflict.” No matter; the crowd cheers as Obama takes the podium.

Sharply dressed in a dark suit, the Illinois senator launches into his position on the issue du jour. “Trade is here to stay,” he says. “We live in a global economy. We have to compete. We have to win. Not every job that has left is coming back. And not every job lost is due to trade — automation has made plants more efficient so they can make the same amount of steel with few workers. These are the realities.” It’s a surprisingly nuanced stance, considering the audience. However, he ends by promising to renegotiate NAFTA and other trade pacts.

Asked how he’s going to transform free trade into “fair” trade, Obama calls for a Patriot Employer Act to repeal tax breaks for firms that outsource jobs overseas. When pressed about how workers can be sure what he’s saying isn’t just populist rhetoric, Obama replies, “Look at my track record. I opposed NAFTA from the start.”

Hillary Clinton is next. The junior senator from New York attacks Obama for his comments about working-class Pennsylvanians, then moves on to other targets: China, for unfairly manipulating its currency and stealing America’s intellectual property; George Bush, for not enforcing World Trade Organization laws; Canada for allegedly unfair trade practices against small agricultural producers in New York. “A lot of my constituents have a difficult time getting their products into Canada. So I commissioned a study to figure out what was going on. And the evidence was pretty clear that there are so many layers of obstacles and barriers that are not really visible that prevent us from getting our goods into Canada. And I’m going to end that.” She added, “We’re going to start with renegotiating NAFTA.”

It would seem the complaints of agrarian producers in one state are worth disrupting a trading relationship that the U.S. government values at US$865 billion annually. After her speech, Canadian Business pressed Clinton for details — such as a timeline on when she will implement her plan to renegotiate the treaty. Like Obama, she ducked: “There’s no timeline till I get elected.”

Clinton’s and Obama’s evasions explain why many remain unsure about either candidate’s commitment to walk the anti-trade talk. Says Pam DelBianco, an accountant with the United Steelworkers who attended the forum in Pittsburgh, “I’m leaning toward Hillary. She was more specific.” Franklin Smith, a boilermaker from Fallsington, Pa., is more blunt: “I don’t believe a word of it.”

Pennsylvania is the birthplace of industrial America. The country’s oldest steel plant sits just outside Pittsburgh, and it was from here that Andrew Carnegie and Andrew Mellon amassed their vast fortunes from railroads, coal, steel and manufacturing. It’s also where the Mechanics’ Union of Trade Associations formed America’s first trade union, in Philadelphia in 1827.

[WNYresident]

I heard from a someone I know because her daughter works in the states but lives in canada. I'm just wondering if it's true or not. If so how can they target canadians but not illegals.

[Anotherview]

I heard from a someone I know because her daughter works in the states but lives in canada. I'm just wondering if it's true or not. If so how can they target canadians but not illegals.

Res: I think we will see something done about immigrants from this administration. Obama wasn't as adominant as McCain during the campaign about cracking down on immigrants but he did lay out a plan. Illegals will have to pay a fine as will the employer. Illegals will not be deported but they will have to go through a process to become citizens.

[MartoQ]

They can target Canadians because they don't vote here!

[therising]

I believe that Canada has a program in which, if a foreigner can not get a work visa, and live in the Country, unless the company the person is working for has proved that they exhausted all efforts to first find a Canadian for the job.

Doesn't seem like a bad idea.