CALGARY- The government shutdown stateside has expats fuming over what they call a “disgraceful” situation.
U.S. lawmakers are deadlocked over a funding bill, which allows the American government to continue offering public services. The bill includes money for ‘Obamacare’, so Republicans in the House of Representatives tried to block it.
However, the Democract-controlled Senate rejected those efforts—pushing the government into furlough.
Jim Davis is an American and a member of Democrats Abroad. He moved to Calgary in 2009 after marrying his Canadian wife.
“It’s ridiculous and it’s disgraceful,” he says, of the situation in his former country. “It absolutely is, because it’s everyday people that are affected by this.”
Indeed, the stalemate means 800,000 American workers are now off the job without pay. All non-essential services are affected, meaning everything from national parks and museums to NASA are closed.
Experts say that if the furlough continues, it could eventually affect the Canadian economy.
“If the situation does drag on, this could spell doom and gloom for a lot of small businesses north of the border, but specifically if you’re a small business that imports from the U.S. or exports to the U.S. market,” explains Richard Truscott from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.
He adds they are already getting calls from concerned business owners.
“It is very frustrating because this is something out of their control, beyond their reach, something that is happening in the international environment and it does have an impact here in Canada.”
Fortunately, U.S. border agents are still working, meaning travellers are not affected.
No one from Republicans Abroad was available for comment on this story.
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