Concerned Canadians gather to examine Canada-U.S relations

Ottawa – The Canadian government has failed to consult the public on Canada’s integration with the United States, and the Council of Canadians, Canada’s largest citizen watchdog organization will not sit idly by.

Prominent Canadians including former Premier of Saskatchewan Roy Romanow, human rights advocate Monia Mazigh and professor and author Stephen Clarkson will join the Council of Canadians on November 4 and 5 at a meeting aimed at examining the impact of Canada’s integration with the U.S. on the lives of Canadians.

“Deep continental integration is not a threat, it is a fact,” says Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians. “The Canadian government has jeopardized natural resources, compromised civil liberties and put social services at risk in order to harmonize our policies and political orientations with those of the Bush administration, and the Canadian public has been kept in the dark. ”

Highlights of the weekend will include a speech by former Premier of Saskatchewan, Roy Romanow and head of the Commission on the Future of Health Care in Canada. Three years after the release of his report, Romanow will address key challenges regarding the Canadian “experiment” in public health care.

As part of the Council of Canadians’ campaign to inform and involve the public on the issue on continental integration, Maude Barlow, National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, will launch her new book Too Close for Comfort: Canada’s Future within Fortress North America before embarking on a tour of 16 cities across Canada. The book examines the alarming impacts of the integration of Canadian foreign and domestic policies with those of the U.S and calls upon Canadians to get involved.

“For 20 years, the Council of Canadians has been mobilizing Canadians in the fight for social justice. This event will look back at our successes and help us find strategies for the challenges ahead,” says Barlow.

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For more information, please contact:
Dylan Penner, Media Officer: Tel.: (613) 233-4487, ext. 249; .