Neither of which actually get used by the majority of Canadians on a daily basis.
Assume best case were they simply become an extension of an Atlantic province and we avoid a constitutional discussion and House/Senate re-balancing issues. We’d now have ~30,000 new Canadians. Health costs were $183 billion for 2008 or 2009 meaning ~$5700 per person or adding $171 million. Then there’s the need to add in new infrastructure and integration of various codes/laws etc.
But the responsibility to patrol over 100,000 square kilometers while building infrastructure to do it effectively would be daunting. Especially considering the potential for increased refugee traffic.
Yes it’s too cold in Canada, if you want some place with a mild climate you have to live in Vancouver (or that area). If Canada annext the T&C islands then Vancouver could get some well deserved competition
American. I vote “yes” simply because it sounds fun annexing poor areas in nice climates and hopefully spreading north American influence. The US should start annexing Mexico one little state at a time. Has anyone ever seriously asked some of our closest Mexican states?
I wonder if it wouldn’t be like the Mariana Islands, or CNMI? They’re part of the US, and subject to US laws except where they don’t want to, like labor laws, customs laws, and tax laws, etc.
American here - same vote, despite the fact that I always think it’s kind of cool when we have to change our maps. The islands’ proximity to Cuba would be an issue, too, I think.
Canada is the destination of a number of people in the world who want to get to a modern, free, western country any way they can, and not necessarily legally. Sometimes, they have indeed washed up in makeshift rafts, though these have been usually launched from a large ship off our Atlantic or Pacific coasts. Regardless, they did not follow proper procedure, entered the country illegally, and typically claim to be a refugee.
Canada does have procedures to deal with the claims of such people, and I see no reason why Cubans arriving illegally on Canadian soil (whether T&C or otherwise) would be treated any differently than other nationalities who end up in Canada without following proper procedure.
It’s not a question of process it’s a question of potential volume. Currently there are not a lot of Haitian refugees/asylum seekers on a per year basis. Mainly since it would require them to reach Canada first. Currently that entails a plane ride to Montreal/Toronto or a 2500 km boat trip to Nova Scotia. Both tend to limit access to the country.
Now add the Turks and Caicos into the mix and you suddenly have a Canadian port 200 km away in a sea patrolled by the Canadian Coast guard. I would imagine we would rescue any rickety boats struggling within our new waters and so would be obligated to take them in and kick off the appropriate hearings and reviews. I can see that straining the local resources, imported Canadian resources and upping the number of claimants per year thereby straining the current refugee system.
No doubt it’s a neat idea and over time we’d work something out but I’m not seeing a whole lot of up side. It might be nice though to give the government something to focus on and stretch their perspective a bit.
