FREDERICTON - Canada’s business elite is pushing Canada closer and closer to assimilation into the United States. By trying to “get in good” with their U.S. buddies, Canadian corporations - with the federal government in tow - are trading away Canada’s independence.

Three renowned speakers will come together tonight in Fredericton to discuss the dangers of Canada’s increasingly close ties to the U.S.:

• Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians;
• Tony Clarke, Director of the Polaris Institute,
and
• Thom Workman, Professor of Political Science at the University of New Brunswick.

“The recent sponsorship scandal has revealed the corrupt and secretive relationship between the federal government and Canada’s business elite,” says Maude Barlow. “In light of the push from corporate Canada to adopt a number of troubling U.S. polices and practices, this relationship may be fatal to Canada’s independence.”

“The corporate agenda affects public policy around the world. For Canada, whose next-door neighbour is an economic giant and the home of many of the world’s most powerful corporations, this means even further integration of our economic regulations with those of the U.S.,” says Thom Workman. “For working people in Canada, the result will be the erosion of social assistance programs and falling real wages, and, generally, a growth of daily anxiety about the future.”

“To make a new 'grand bargain' with the U.S., Canada will have to make a truck-load of commitments - new military spending and ballistic missile defense; guaranteed non-stop flows of oil, gas and electricity; concerted action on terrorism and homeland defense; harmonization of our social programs and public services with the US; as well as protecting borders for the free flow of goods and services,” says Tony Clarke. “This where Canada's big business coalitions now want to take the country. The question is: ‘will Paul Martin's government be following their lead?’ “

“With an election on the horizon and the Martin government intent on establishing cozier relations with the Bush administration, it is crucial that Canadians be made aware of what is brewing behind closed doors,” says Barlow. “We urge Canadians to make this a central issue in the upcoming federal election.”

“Colony or Country? The Future of Canada-U.S. Relations” takes place at the University of New Brunswick in McLaggan Hall, room 105. The event starts at 7PM, and admission is free.

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