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October 31, 2007 True to the Halloween spirit, if the SPP is dead, then it has risen from the crypt to haunt the halls of corporate Washington. Industry Minister Jim Prentice was in the U.S. capital on Tuesday to address a Chamber of Commerce event called Eliminating the Impediments to Competitiveness. The goal of the meeting was to "look at two areas that are impeding North American competitiveness: labor mobility and a competitive and secure border." The solution, said Prentice in his speech, is a brand new propaganda campaign for the SPP. Prentice told the Chamber he is "pleased to be here with my colleague, Secretary [of Commerce Carlos] Gutierrez, with whom I have had the pleasure to work on the Security and Prosperity Partnership and other matters… and I am very pleased to say that we share the same objectives and that we are both focused on results, not process." The problem for our industry minister is that, results aside, the border is getting progressively thicker, not thinner, as it is securitized under the SPP. "Security needs must be balanced with the fluid movement of goods and people across Canada-U.S. borders, because the quality of life of too many Americans and Canadians depends on it," he said, repeating the lingo that led to the creation of the SPP to begin with. It's a line that Canadians, Mexicans and Americans aren't buying, so Prentice stressed in his talk that, "One thing both governments and the private sector have to do is demystify the SPP for the public." Not a word about including citizens in the discussion, and taking their advice on the kind of cooperation they'd like to see in North America seriously. Nope, it's all about the North American Competitiveness Council talking to us and for us and over us about these things. "We are also calling on the private sector to do its part in explaining to employees, to unions and to citizens what needs to be done to knock down some of the barriers to prosperity that threaten our three countries," said Prentice. "We need your help in getting people to understand: why reducing border wait times translates into faster access to consumer products; or why improving intellectual property rights means more safety for consumers; or why harmonizing regulations will mean better safety and environmental standards as well as better business efficiencies." Sorry Jim, that moment has passed. The Canadian Press is even reporting that opposition to the SPP's regulatory and security agendas has "struck a fatal blow to the whole concept." Unfortunately, it appears we still have to chase the ghost of the agreement back into its tomb.
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