MEDIA RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 9, 2007

High-level meeting aimed at integrating North America, says Council of Canadians

Ottawa – North American integration will be the primary focus of a high-level trinational meeting scheduled for February 23, says the Council of Canadians. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff will be in Ottawa to meet with Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, Trade Minister David Emerson and their Mexican counterparts.

“While recent media reports have claimed that the meeting will focus on border security,” says Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, “we know that the goal of this meeting is to advance a much larger corporate-led agenda for North American integration – something our government has been very secretive about.”

A September 2006 report issued by the governments of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico stated that the upcoming meeting would take place in order to “review progress” on the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and “develop concrete initiatives” in preparation for the leaders’ summit expected to take place in Kananaskis in June 2007.

“The Security and Prosperity Partnership goes beyond simply the passport issue,” says Jean-Yves Lefort, trade campaigner for the Council of Canadians. “The agreement calls for 300 policy changes in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico and gives wide-ranging powers to the business elite without any consideration for the public interest or the environment.”

The North American Competitiveness Council, a business advisory body to the SPP representing North America’s largest corporations, will be presenting recommendations at the upcoming meeting.

The Council of Canadians is demanding that Canada cease all further participation in the Security and Prosperity Partnership and that Stephen Harper consult with Canadians in a meaningful way on Canada-U.S. relations.

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For more information, contact: Meera Karunananthan Media Officer: (613) 233-4487, ext. 234;
Cell: (613) 795-8685; .

Further reading:

• Security and Prosperity Partnership
• ACTION ALERT: Stop the SPP ministers February 23 meeting in Ottawa