MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tuesday August 15, 2006

NACC should not be writing Canadian policy, says Council of Canadians

According to the U.S. Department of State, the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) met in Washington today to find ways “to cut red tape or eliminate unnecessary barriers to trade in North America,” and to set priorities for the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP).

“Corporations such as Lockheed Martin, Wal-Mart, Suncor and Chevron should not be shaping economic policy between Canada and the United States,” says Jean-Yves LeFort, trade campaigner with the Council of Canadians. “The North American Competitiveness Council gives far too much power to business leaders who are clearly more interested in profit than in what’s best for Canada.”

Prime Minister Stephen Harper named ten corporate executives to the NACC at a meeting of North American leaders in Cancun, Mexico this past March. Nine of those ten appointees represent corporations that are members of the powerful Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), whose North American Security and Prosperity Initiative led to the signing of the SPP by Canada, Mexico and the U.S. in March 2005.

The CCCE makes no secret of its ultimate goal: the integration of the Canadian and U.S. economies, the harmonization of our foreign, security and immigration policies, as well as common environmental, health and other regulations. In a meeting this past March, the U.S. branch of the NACC set five clear objectives for the SPP, including “energy integration,” and “private sector involvement in border security.”

“Harper and Bush have clearly given business leaders the green light to press forward on a North American model for business security and prosperity,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “How truly accountable is the Harper government to the Canadian people when it gives preferential treatment to the big-business community in the design of its policies.”

The Council of Canadians demands that Canada cease all further participation in the North American Competitiveness Council and the Security and Prosperity Partnership, and that Stephen Harper consult with Canadians in a meaningful and participatory way on Canada-U.S. relations.

“During the elections, Harper promised to submit any ‘significant international treaty’ to a vote in Parliament,” says LeFort. “It is his duty to make Canada’s ‘security and prosperity’ a matter of public debate.”

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