Canadian progressives have called for a day of national action on August 20-21, when Prime Minister Stephen Harper will be meeting in Montebello, Quebec with U.S. President George Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderón for a Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America Summit. What can have the Council of Canadians and the Canadian Labour Council so riled up?
Well, from wiki, there's this:
Despite a lack of in-depth information about the North American Competitiveness Council (the 'working group' for the SPP - editor's note), opposition to it in both the U.S. and Canada has focused on the fact that it grants the corporate sector a formal role in the Security and Prosperity Partnership which has thus far been denied to the public, citizens organizations, labour and many legislators, who are still in the dark about the continental pact. In Canada, the Council of Canadians has run several articles about the NACC in its publication, Canadian Perspectives. The citizens organization is calling for the corporate body to be disbanded, and for the Security and Prosperity Partnership to be brought to the Canadian Parliament for a full legislative debate.
Wiki goes on to list the members of the NACC. Really, you should have a look.
http://en.wikipedia.org/...
Besides the lack of public, legislative, NGO, environmental, and labor input, and the lack of any freakin' press coverage (these are closed door meetings) - the Council of Canadians worries about this:
"The goal of the SPP has been superficially reported as an increase in the security and prosperity of North America by means of strengthening co-operation between Canada, Mexico and the United States in a number of areas, including immigration, security, trade and transportation. In fact, it contains hundreds of provisions and "demands" that will affect everything from food and drug regulations to immigration policies to the creation of joint energy plans and a common foreign policy. The real goal of the SPP is no less than the integration of the Canadian and U.S. economic and security policies, and the process is being pursued without public knowledge or debate."
When the Council of Canadians talks about those "demands", they worry about being able to implement environmental regulations regarding the Alberta Tar Sands oil, having their fresh water shipped out of their nation, lowered pesticide standards, and being caught in the paranoic web of U.S. "security" operations ... oh, silly things like that.
Here's another link to the Canadian Labour Congress and a document titled "Deep Integration in North America: Security and Prosperity for Whom?" Reading this will go a long way on informing you about what is making our neighbors to the north so fearful.
http://www.canadians.org/...
One blogger at the Vanity Press bemoans the lack of coordination between Canadian and U.S. progressives:
"There are two reasons for this mutual isolation: first, American progressives are victimized by their own media's tunnel vision, and as a result don't know a lot about Canadian politics -- or indeed, the politics of any other country besides their own. Second, Canadian progressives are frequently animated by a nationalism that consists largely of resisting American influence of any kind. Because of these two factors, the two groups often don't talk each other's languages well, and are unable easily to make contact and cooperate with each other. And as for Mexican progressives -- well, who are they? Does anyone in Canada or the USA even know?
http://thevanitypress.blogspot.com/...
Googling SPP or NACC will get you hundreds of right-wing sites: this is their worst nightmare - Mexicans with social security! - but not much at all from U.S. progressives, unless they are telling the Canadians not to worry so much about the proposed Tri-national Super Highway http://www.nascocorridor.com/ because none of this will ever come to pass. Corporate globalists wouldn't want to create a north American free-capital zone, affecting jobs both here, in Canada and Mexico. Nor would they would more privatization, less regulation or cheaper labor across the three nations.
Oh, really?