How to annoy local businesses, foreign tourists, and other sovereign states

So the mental giants currently running the Canadian government have decided to require visa applications on visitors from Mexico. On the surface, this seems like a good idea: there are thousands of individuals from Mexico who overstay their visas each year, essentially bypassing the refugee claims system.

The problem with it, is that Canada normally plays host to over a quarter of a million Mexican tourists that pump hundreds of millions into the Canadian economy, so as anyone with a brain can point out, imposing the visa requirement to deal with a fractional percentage of people is a classic example of a boneheaded move.

Further compounding the problem is our government's decision to execute this with almost zero warning to the public. This kind of knee-jerk, consultation-free decision making is rarely appropriate in a representative democracy.. I can think of the income trust move as something that arguably had to be done in a quick manner. The new visa requirements, on the other hand, have managed to:

• Ruin existing travel plans.
• Harm Canadian businesses in a season when tourist money is usually received at a time when it is badly needed.
• Massively increased the workload of the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City, to the point that apparently, everyone is busy processing applications.
• Piss off future potential Mexican tourists.

In retaliation, the Mexicans were nice enough to just require visas from our diplomats.. the diplomatic equivalent of a slap across the face. In a similar situation, the Czechs recalled their ambassador.. the diplomatic equivalent of flipping you the bird and headbutting you in the face. The Czech situation promises to be a bit more overtly irritating to average Canadians, as the EU contemplates retaliatory visa requirements for Canadians.

Link: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/visa-decision-leaves-tourists-in-a-panic/article1218678/