Hello Indivisibles,

How do you feel about Trump’s tariff war with Canada?

Yeah.  Me, too.

What about Trump repeatedly saying that Canada should be our 51st state?

How do you think Canadians feel about those things?  

What you are thinking in answer to that last question probably is an understatement.  Our Canadian neighbors are shocked, insulted and infuriated over the way Trump is treating them, our closest Ally.  And who can blame them?  Trump’s actions and words have cost both Canada and the US.  Our small businesses in the Islands have lost trade, businesses that sell products in Canada have seen their sales dry up as US products are pulled from Canadian stores, Canadian businesses are being hurt.  US consumers (that’s us) are having to pay more and more for Canadian products we depend on, like lumber, etc.  But the worst damage is the cost to the goodwill and friendship between our two countries.

What can we do about it?  We cannot snap our fingers and change Trump’s attitude toward Canada, or his IQ.  But we can send a message.  A message to our Canadian neighbors, to our own Vermont neighbors and to Trump and the GOP.  We can let them know that we reject the harmful, senseless assaults on Canada and we can reaffirm our generations-long friendship with Canada and our Canadian neighbors.  We can DO SOMETHING.

Indivisible Champlain Islands is creating an opportunity for Vermonters and Canadians to come together and share an afternoon of friendship; an afternoon to reassure each other that the bonds that have always existed between our Countries are still there and still as strong as ever.  And we will send the message that Trump is wrong and we will resist his destructive actions every way we can.

Join us for  Paddles Without Borders, Sunday, July 27, from 1:00 PM to 3:00 PM at the Blue Paddle Bistro, 316 US Rt 2, South Hero, Vermont.  Enjoy a free picnic lunch and live music, provided by the Blue Paddle Bistro.  Chat with your neighbors, both Canadian and American.  Listen to what each other has to say.  Learn how each of us can participate in the resistance.  And enjoy a lovely afternoon together.  Tell your neighbors.  Call your friends in Canada and invite them down.  Join us.

I’m looking forward to seeing you there.

Marilyn