3 ms·

im canadian but this feels performative yes i get it, stick it to the USA. yay patriotism. suddenly thats cool and not problematic for some reason. and im als

im canadian but this feels performative yes i get it, stick it to the USA. yay patriotism. suddenly thats cool and not problematic for some reason. and im also all for less restrictive coordination between nations. it's all performative in the end. but like, this feels basically like "stick it to trump" and not anything meaningful.

cmrdporcupine 1mo ago
I agree and at the same time I'm all for it. Almost a decade on and most Canadians don't seem to realize we already have CETA (free trade) with the EU. It's not fully fully ratified but it's there. It's why our grocery stores have been slowly filling with European products we never had before (Yay!) For example: It's already cheaper for me -- as a consumer -- to import sporting goods (skis, etc) from the EU than it is from the US. (And often less shipping hassle too, oddly). And yet distributor arrangements often still funnel everything through the US, first as "North American distributor" models. Incurring shipping and sometimes even tariff overhead. (Looking at you Scarpa, North America. You suck.) Even if all of this is symbolic, it may at least shift perceptions on our side of the Atlantic so Canadian businesses at least start looking to Europe more seriously as both importers and exporters. People often forget our country was built on an east west shipping and transport axis with the St Lawrence (and later the Pacific) as outflow, to supply Europe (mainly Britain). It was only later that north-south trade became more important economically. Shipping manufactured goods across the Atlantic to European customers may end up cheaper for them than shipping from China in some circumstances. I'm maybe also a bit biased, I currently work for a European employer.
- slopinthebag 1mo ago
  funny cuz i still cant buy european butter :P best we can get is "european style" id love to just move to somewhere in the eu and be able to freely work there. thats how it should be in every country btw. until then, it seems like more performance, which carney has seemingly mastered.
  - cmrdporcupine 1mo ago
    Dairy is highly protected in Canada. For better or for worse. Exceptions were made for cheeses though. They've dropped significantly in (relative) price and varieties of imports have improved significantly in the last 10 years. Even the most white-bread grocery stores tend to stock a selection of decent European cheeses now.
    - slopinthebag 1mo ago
      i eat a certain cheese almost every day and i feel like im being molested very time i stock up. i get your general point, but the dairy cartel reigns supreme. it's funny because we had someone running for PM in 2017 who was the only person who said they'd fix it and he was branded a racist right-winger. politics in canada is rworded
      - cmrdporcupine 1mo ago
        I've started making my own cheese (with the new 6% milk we have in the grocery stores here in Ontario now). 4 litres of $10 6% milk gives me a huge pile of halloumi or similar that lasts the week. Protein / nutrition wise works out to be about 2/3rds the price of equivalent chicken and like 1/3rd the price of beef. About an hour and a half of rather enjoyable labour. I have mixed feelings about the dairy cartel. I am in favour of reform of some kind to eliminate the quota system but I also don't want a flood of American milk into the Canadian market.
        slopinthebag 1mo ago
        send me some cheese pls :) also 6% is something ive never seen. does it come in an extra large bag?
        cmrdporcupine 1mo ago
        This is new in the Ontario market this year. It was lobbied for by the South Asian / Desi community as they like to make their own paneer and yogurt. It comes in the same 1.33L milk bags, it just costs a bit more, depending on the grocery store. It took a while but most of the local grocery stores around me are now stocking it.

cmrdporcupine 1mo ago

I agree and at the same time I'm all for it. Almost a decade on and most Canadians don't seem to realize we already have CETA (free trade) with the EU. It's not fully fully ratified but it's there. It's why our grocery stores have been slowly filling with European products we never had before (Yay!) For example: It's already cheaper for me -- as a consumer -- to import sporting goods (skis, etc) from the EU than it is from the US. (And often less shipping hassle too, oddly). And yet distributor arrangements often still funnel everything through the US, first as "North American distributor" models. Incurring shipping and sometimes even tariff overhead. (Looking at you Scarpa, North America. You suck.) Even if all of this is symbolic, it may at least shift perceptions on our side of the Atlantic so Canadian businesses at least start looking to Europe more seriously as both importers and exporters. People often forget our country was built on an east west shipping and transport axis with the St Lawrence (and later the Pacific) as outflow, to supply Europe (mainly Britain). It was only later that north-south trade became more important economically. Shipping manufactured goods across the Atlantic to European customers may end up cheaper for them than shipping from China in some circumstances. I'm maybe also a bit biased, I currently work for a European employer.

slopinthebag 1mo ago
funny cuz i still cant buy european butter :P best we can get is "european style" id love to just move to somewhere in the eu and be able to freely work there. thats how it should be in every country btw. until then, it seems like more performance, which carney has seemingly mastered.
- cmrdporcupine 1mo ago
  Dairy is highly protected in Canada. For better or for worse. Exceptions were made for cheeses though. They've dropped significantly in (relative) price and varieties of imports have improved significantly in the last 10 years. Even the most white-bread grocery stores tend to stock a selection of decent European cheeses now.
  - slopinthebag 1mo ago
    i eat a certain cheese almost every day and i feel like im being molested very time i stock up. i get your general point, but the dairy cartel reigns supreme. it's funny because we had someone running for PM in 2017 who was the only person who said they'd fix it and he was branded a racist right-winger. politics in canada is rworded
    - cmrdporcupine 1mo ago
      I've started making my own cheese (with the new 6% milk we have in the grocery stores here in Ontario now). 4 litres of $10 6% milk gives me a huge pile of halloumi or similar that lasts the week. Protein / nutrition wise works out to be about 2/3rds the price of equivalent chicken and like 1/3rd the price of beef. About an hour and a half of rather enjoyable labour. I have mixed feelings about the dairy cartel. I am in favour of reform of some kind to eliminate the quota system but I also don't want a flood of American milk into the Canadian market.
      - slopinthebag 1mo ago
        send me some cheese pls :) also 6% is something ive never seen. does it come in an extra large bag?
        cmrdporcupine 1mo ago
        This is new in the Ontario market this year. It was lobbied for by the South Asian / Desi community as they like to make their own paneer and yogurt. It comes in the same 1.33L milk bags, it just costs a bit more, depending on the grocery store. It took a while but most of the local grocery stores around me are now stocking it.