Carl,
Another perspective on why Americans aren't truly welcome to Canadian services.

NAFTA has hurt the Canadian economy badly (exchange rate @ $0.63 American / $1.00 Canadian last I looked). In 1999, I traveled to Canada on a business assignment for more than 3 months. Each week, I had to re-apply for entry and to prove that I wasn't taking a job away from a Canadian resident. They wouldn't issue a work permit for the time I was contracted to be there. And, while Customs official weren't rude, they made it clear that they were protecting their national economic interests. The only week I "breezed through" Customs was the week I showed up with a full Duluth pack for my mini-trip to the Churchill. I was spending money, not taking money out of the country.

1998 (I think) was the year the Park rules started changing - no American leeches for bait, worms bedded only in sphagnum moss, etc. They also started fiddling with the permit numbers and application processes. This was about the time NAFTA really started to impact their provincial and national economies.

I can understand that they want/need (political decision) to show that improvements are for Canadian residents using the Provincial Parks. There's also the punishment aspect for American politics dictating to their economy and causing troubles.

Their perspective seems to be that we have the BWCAW and should make use of and expend our own "bountiful" resources, rather than expending their shrinking resources. It's not their fault that some of us don't agree with the USFS management of the BW and much prefer the Canadian side. I'm also sure the US govt. would rather we keep our money in the US, rather than in a foreign country.

It's a shame that national policies interfere with our well-earned vacation fun, but isn't that the American way?

Posted by Skip Guyer on January 14, 2001 at 09:29