The President of the USA by the name of Donald Trump has bandied about the idea of Canada joining the USA. I think this is a boffo idea, which could be achieved after a few minor pre-conditions are met:
- The USA and Canada adopt a joint national Medicare program, preferably modeled on an effective one like those of France or Japan. No one can afford American health care.
- The USA improve its average life expectancy by 3.26 years or more to prove it is as advanced a country as Canada.
- The USA adopt the metric system, like any civilized country.
- The USA adopt hockey as its national sport.
- The USA adopt French as one of its national languages, or maybe we all just speak Spanish in a show of western hemisphere solidarity.
- Canada remove all inter-provincial trade barriers.
- The USA dump the Electoral College system, and both countries agree to elect a President directly and democratically for a change – one person, one vote.
- The USA abolish the death penalty.
- The USA seal the current border to prevent illegal guns being exported to Canada.
- The National Rifle Association be declared a terrorist organization.
- The District of Columbia and Puerto Rico be admitted as states. They applied first, and both have a better case than Canada.
- … readers may think of many others.
Canada would of course become thirteen American states, each with two Senators. If Wyoming and Alaska can get two Senators each, why not PEI and Nunavut, not to mention Ontario?
This letter was written by David Wessel, Regina
