Originally Posted by ClueByFour
A lot of the "doing business" crap is because the US and Canada (despite NAFTA) are still not entirely comfortable (or ready, policy wise) for a cross-border mobile workforce. I've got the "NAFTA sanctioned business meeting, work for a multinational with a Canadian subsidiary, and renumerated in the US" speech down to about 12 seconds. Despite that and a NEXUS-Land card, I often spend anywhere from 2 to 15 minutes convincing the Customs Canada folks I'm not there to trash the entire economy by coming up for a 6 hour meeting.
Exactly.
It's ridiculous - If North America wants to compete against the juggernaut that is the EU we need to allow the free movement of Canadians and Americans back and forth across the border.
To be honest, I think cultural / economic barriers would prevent most citizens from the respective countries moving north and south - As a Canadian, I would find the social conservatism & gun culture in the the USA troubling, and most of my American friends would find the high taxation rates in Canada difficult to live with. However, it should still be an option for those folks who want to take advantage of it.
Cheers,
Geoff Glave
Vancouver, Canada