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Opinion: Iceland and Norway keep saying no to Europe. We should, too

Canada has no need for closer ties with the EU. Going beyond the access we have will ensnare us in Brussel's growth-killing regulatory net

It was smiles, applause and handshakes all around on Wednesday in Strasbourg as Mark Carney sat in on EU President Ursula von der Leyen’s “state of the union” address, in which she floated the idea of Canada becoming the EU’s first “associate member,” whatever that means. But let’s not get carried away by all the well-wishing and good fellowship. The EU is a bloc that sensible countries like Iceland and Norway keep refusing to join. They already have the market access Carney wants and live right next door to the regulators he is courting, and yet they have repeatedly rejected closer integration.

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