MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 19, 2005

Task Force recommendations threaten Canadian sovereignty

OTTAWA - If implemented, the recommendations of the Task Force on the Future of North America would seriously jeopardize Canada’s ability to pass laws or make independent decisions in the public interest, says the Council of Canadians.

In its report released May 17, the Task Force recommends that the Canadian government make a number of large-scale concessions to ensure further integration of Canada and Mexico with the United States. The Task Force is a private, well-funded initiative by corporate lobbyists such as the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) and high-profile former politicians such as John Manley.

"These proposals are not in the interests of Canadians and are inherently undemocratic," says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. "All three countries are being asked to relinquish their sovereignty in critical areas of public policy and to surrender vast quantities of their natural resources without input from citizens."

Under NAFTA, Canada is already committed to sharing unsustainable quantities of energy with the United States. The report recommends that Canada’s commitment to supplying North America’s energy be taken even further.

"The Task Force recommends that Canada and Mexico eliminate all protective barriers and disregard all concerns for domestic use of their own energy resources to provide the U.S. with secure sources of energy," says Council of Canadians Campaigner Guy Caron. "At a minimum, Canada should not be locked into a continental pact that does little to provide it with its own energy security."

The report also recommends North American regulatory standards and a "tested-once" policy for biotechnology and pharmaceuticals.

"The 'tested-once policy' proposed for pharmaceuticals and biotechnology is dangerous and unacceptable," says Caron. "If this policy was in effect in the late 1990s, we would have approved Bovine Growth Hormone (BGH), a drug linked to cancer that had already been approved in the U.S. Instead, due to heavy public pressure, BGH was ultimately rejected by Health Canada. Canadians have the right to decide for themselves what drugs and foods are safe to approve."

"Tom d'Aquino, Chair of the CCCE, swore up and down that water and culture were not on the table during the Task Force's discussions. But the report recommends that so-called excluded sections of NAFTA be reviewed. While the report does not specify which sections it has in mind for review, the intentions are spelled out in the leaked minutes of the December 2004 meeting of the Task Force. In the minutes, there was "consensus" that NAFTA exemptions for culture and agriculture would be opened up for re-negotiation. As well, the minutes addressed the issue of Canada's water which Task force members agreed is on a future "table" for negotiation. As Task Force member Thomas Axworthy states in his dissenting opinion, 'cultural protection and a prohibition of bulk water exports should remain within national not joint jurisdiction'," adds Barlow.

The Council of Canadians encourages those concerned with preserving Canada’s sovereignty to send a "Stop Deep Integration with Bush’s America" postcard to the Canadian government. The postcard can be downloaded on the Council of Canadians' web site at www.canadians.org.

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For more information, please contact:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer, Council of Canadians: (613) 233-4487, ext. 249; 1-800-387-7177, ext. 249; .