Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Canada, welcome to statehood!

The Jazzer is mightily pissed off today.

It just hit the news today that since April 2006 the Royal Bank of Canada (CANADA folks, ya know, that huge country to the north of the US!) has been restricting access to US bank accounts to certain people with dual citizenship. If you are a Canadian who also holds Iraqi, Iranian, Cuban, Sudanese or Myanmarese (what is a citizen or Myanmar called?) citizenship, the Royal Bank of Canada aka RBUSP*, won’t let you hold a US account because you are considered a risk by… the US! Here's the story. Other banks are probably doing the same, not that that has been confirmed yet.

Yes folks, Canadian bank regulations are now being dictated by our neighbours to the south.

If there ever was any doubt that Canada is the US’s bitch, there is no doubt today. How can we even call ourselves a country when another country is dictating our policies?

I know what it is! We’ve been annexed and nobody told me about it! Yeah, that’s probably it. I’m a ‘Merican now… ‘cept I’ll be needing a passport at the end of the month to get into my neighbouring states**.

In other stupid government news, when the first overpass collapsed onto the highway a couple of years ago in Montreal, and the whole thing happened again last summer (I talked about it somewhere here, but I’m too lazy to go looking for it to link), the government said that Quebec infrastructures are in quite good shape. And the fact that in places the concrete on highway overpasses has crumbled to the point where you can actually see the rebar (very rusted rebar I might add)? Meh, it’s nothing, normal wear and tear is all.

Ironically, with elections fast approaching, the Quebec government has announced that it will borrow to invest $1billion in infrastructure renewal… Surprise surprise.

Who me, a cynic?

On a totally different note, when I got to the gym at 6:30 this morning, there was a line up in front of the Future Shop. There must be a new video game coming out. Not that I'd know.


* Royal Bank of US Paranoia

**I actually have no problem with the concept of needing a passport to get into the States, it is after all a foreign country. More and more so it seems.

13 comments:

choochoo said...

No, you're not a cynic *cough*
You'd better start sowing your cash into your matress

Ian Lidster said...

Anything that can be said or written to disparage Canadian chartered banks and their atrocious behaviors and nauseating profits (with the full complicity of any federal government -- all of which are just branches of the major banks) makes you a gem in my books. So, your RBC observation comes as no surprise to me.
Otherwise, have a good day.
Cheers,
Ian

Dan said...

It's only a matter of time before that big landmass becomes our 51st through 60th states ... how many Canadian states ... er ... provinces are there? Oh hell, let's just make it all one state. All you Canadians are the same, right? :)

Jazz said...

Chooch - yeah, the cash in the mattress thing sounds better and better, especially considering the fees that banks charge you for the privilege of getting screwed by them.

Ian - I'm a gem! I'm a gem. *swoon*

Jazz said...

Dan - yep, we Canajuns are all the same, we all say "eh", eh?

Tai said...

Doesn't surprise me in the slightest.
In fact...I say we just better get used to bending over and lubing up, 'cus it's just going to get worse.

Big Brother said...

Poor lil' sister, you can't even put your money under you mattress cuz nobody gets paid with money anymore. You either get it by cheque (more and more rare) or by direct deposit. Either way you have to have a bank account where the banks gouge you with all kinds of petty charges. Kind of like a monopoly, you don't have a choice.
Do you also realise that the banks hit the poorer segment of the population much more than the richer. I can afford to keep a minimum balance in my account, but someone who doesn't have much money and is just getting by, ends up paying all the those costs. So much for social justice. There should be a law against excessive greediness. These banks make more profit than the GNP of most 3rd world countries.

Evil Spock said...

It seems foreign to Evil Spock. With your hockey and universal healthcare.

Jazz, just curious, how did you find Evil Spock's site?

Jazz said...

Tai - Indeed. We're gonna need massive amounts of lube in the coming years.

BB - Yeah, $1000 minimum balance. Money they're using to make more money while it sits there and you can't get a thing out of it.

Spock - Funny, universal health care is my subject of today. I think I got to you through Snay. I think... Sort of random link clicking.

Jazz said...

Spock - or maybe it was Dan...

Anonymous said...

It's just a matter time.

Soon the Canadian economy will fail and Canadians will come begging to be part of the US.

So will most of the world.

The USA is the greatest country in the world and may soon become the only country in the world.

Jazz said...

Anonymous - Rather late with that comment, eh?

Anonymous said...

Like it or not, Canada and the U.S. have more in common than any other two countries in the world. They SHOULD be one country. Whether Canada joins the US or vice versa, or through the creation of a new United North America (our version of the EU), it should be done.

Ideally, I'd like to see both Canada and the US rejoin the UK, or create a new unified country. It's time to forget about the past and move on to a better future.