Blame Canada
The title is from the song by that title in the South Park movie. It just jumped to mind when I read this article by Steyn. It is a good read, but I feel compelled to agree and expound at length.
It must be tough to be next door neighbor to the United States. They don't even get to be the problem neighbor usually. Ordinarily, that role is played by our southern neighbor. But what Steyn has to say about economics being the niggling point is true. The U.S.A. was greatly impacted by the discovery of Mad Cow in the U.S. and the closure of the Canadian border to cows was not unprecedented, nor was it not carefully considered before hand. The fact of the matter is that the cow in question came from Canada. That doesn't mean Canadian cows are bad, it just means some prudence is in order.
The problem, of course, is that the border closure costs Canadian cattlemen lots and lots and lots of money. Which is of course regrettable, but what do you do? The border wasn't closed without cause, afterall.
I have very good feelings about the Canadians I've met. I've never been to Canada, but I know they might resent being tied to us geographically and economically. Let us not forget how hospitable they were when all of those planes were diverted from US airspace to Canada on 9/11/01.
France is not bound by such constraints. They don't feel the economic power of the US standing by their side, so can be more vocal in their protests.
Which is all fine as everyone is entitled to their opinions. But economics explain a lot for both Canada and France.
I think I rambled there a bit.
