Posted on 05/26/2014 10:40:57 AM PDT by rickmichaels
The premier of the Turks and Caicos Islands is in Ottawa on Monday promoting economic ties, but it’s the hope of some politicians to annex the island as Canada’s 11th province that has many dreaming of a truly Canadian tropical beach getaway.
Turks and Caicos Premier Rufus Ewing will meet Prime Minister Stephen Harper and other parliamentarians Monday in Ottawa to promote tourism and trade connections with Canada, before heading to Toronto to officially open a new tourism office.
There have been at least three attempts over many decades to have the sun-splashed British overseas territory officially join Canada. However, those attempts have been repeatedly rebuffed either by Canadian or British officials.
But if Conservative MP Peter Goldring gets his way, the archipelago of 40 Caribbean islands located east of Cuba would be Canada’s 11th province.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.nationalpost.com ...
My my. Some of the most expensive real estate in the Caribbean, for free.
If it’s up for grabs, wouldn’t the big country nearby be a better choice?
After all, it ain’t CF-18s that keep the Cuban MiGs away.
Canada,s Budget is in much better order.
Take Haiti. It gives them another French speaking province and good old Canadian bureaucracy would benefit Haitians greatly.
If it’s up for grabs, wouldn’t the big country nearby be a better choice?
They would never want the Slum formally know as the United States
wouldn’t the big country nearby be a better choice?
Ahh... That would be Cuba
No Canada... you don’t need a Hawaii. Just look at ours - we’d be better off without it.
Fort Lauderdale, during winter might as well be a part of Quebec.
I’ll say. We need to divest ourselves of the Communist enclaves. Hawaii, Vermont, Massachusetts, coastal counties of California...
Canada can have Florida. Half of them already live there half of the year.
There were some very practical reasons that the T&C Islands weren't annexed decades ago -- these are the flip side of reasons that the Islanders want to join our Confederation.
- Canada has a "free" comprehensive health care system. The Islanders would benefit from that; but they would have to be heavily subsidized. OTOH, there are already many times more Canadians, that don't pay for their healthcare.
- Canada has a generous federal "employment insurance" program. There's a real fear of tens of thousands of Canadians spending winters in the T&C", on pogey. This issue could be solved, with some simple rule changes.
- Canada has a system of equalization payments, whereby billions are taken from "have" provinces to give to "have not" provinces. The purpose is to enable even the poorest province to offer government services equal to those offered by the richest provinces. The T&C Islands would be a huge beneficiary of these transfer payments.
BTW, despite what a lot of commentators on the NP site seem to think, it would not be necessary to make the T&C Islands a separate province. Canada already has three "Territories" covering the far north. Each has about the same population of the T&C; and about 1,000 times greater area. The T&C could be made an offshore Territory, or they could even be deemed to be a county of some existing province. The constitutional issues regarding admitting a new province are a red herring, in this case.
Cuba isn’t a country.
It’s a giant slave camp, overseen by the world’s last big plantation owner.
For some reason I can’ picture the Caicos Islands as a winter surfing destination........
Only 49K population according to CIA factbook.
Northwest Territories at 41K, Yukon at almost 34K, Nunavut at almost 32K have been waiting a lot longer for provincial status...
Prince Edward Island at 140K is the smallest province.
Now how does a British territory go about switching allegiance to Canada? I would think the British government would have to agree to the deal.
When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to say "Take off, eh" to another...
Uh, yeah. "Surprise, we're your new province. When do we start getting the checks?" Could be a little problem there...
Canada Ping!
That's how we got Newfoundland.
Equalization payments need to end. It’s not helping anyone by being dependent on the government for handouts.
That said, if these islands can show an economic plan that would keep them off the public dole, then perhaps we can work something out.
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