March 29, 2006

This Thursday, March 30, Stephen Harper will travel to Cancun, Mexico for the second yearly summit between the leaders of Canada, the US and Mexico. Last year, this same summit resulted in the first signed agreement based on Bay Street’s so-called deep integration initiative - which should be called the annexation initiative. The agreement is called the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership and after the 2005 summit a dozen ministerial level working groups were formed to plan the “harmonization” (read Americanization) of a huge swath of public policy.

The government and big business have managed to frame this issue in such a way as to make it look routine and non-threatening. For example, the Globe and Mail described the agreement this way:

“...an accord that deals both with protecting North America from outside attacks but also with ensuring competitiveness in global markets.”

Using your decoder ring you know this means 1) Canada adopting US defence and foreign policy and 2) tying ourselves irrevocably to the declining US economy in a doomed effort to out-compete China and India.

The Globe's description would alarm no one - and that is how it being deliberately spun by government and corporate Canada so it can be implemented by stealth before anyone knows it has happened.

It is extremely important that we track the DI issue regularly and re-frame it so that its truly alarming aspects are clear to the public.

WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR EXPLICITLY EXPOSING THIS EFFORT TO DOWNPLAY THE ENORMOUS IMPACT OF THIS AGREEMENT. [REMEMBER TO SEND COPIES OF ALL LETTERS TO THE G&M - letters at GlobeAndMail.ca, AND ANY LARGE REGIONAL PAPERS.]

IN RE-FRAMING THIS ISSUE IT IS ALSO EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO GO BEYOND EXPOSING THE NEGATIVE AND TO PROPOSE POSITIVE POLICY INITIATIVES BASED ON CANADIANS’ VALUES.

Here are the main themes I think we could focus on:

First, refer to some of the key facts of the agreement: The deal calls for:

• the “harmonization” of literally hundreds and eventually thousands of regulations: environmental, labour, health, food safety, drug safety, transportation, zoning and more.
• it will open the door to negotiations on bulk water exports to the US;
• it will expand the catastrophic energy provisions of NAFTA to include electricity (sabotaging any effort at conservation as power companies transform themselves into export businesses);
• it will harmonize further (it’s already well on its way) all our refugee laws; integrate our military into the US military with potentially catastrophic consequences.
• confidential reports from founding DI meetings even talked about eventually changing school curriculums to help create a “North American” culture.
• Canadian culture, nominally protected under NAFTA, would have all its protections eventually eliminated with devastating effects on publishing, film, magazines, and TV.

1. This is an agreement designed exclusively by corporations, for corporations with no input whatever from other sectors of Canadian society.

   Positive: we should call for a national debate/public hearings on the current state of Canada/US relations so all Canadians have an opportunity to become informed of our options.

2. This initiative has never been debated in parliament, discussed in a federal election nor given a mandate by the public in any way. It has not even been discussed or voted on at any political party’s convention. As such it is profoundly anti-democratic.

   Positive: We should call for a full parliamentary debate and cross country parliamentary committee hearings on the current state of Canada/US relations.

3. The notion that these three countries will discuss, as equals, North American “security” is both farcical and extremely dangerous. What it really means is that Canada (and Mexico) will be pressured into giving up their sovereign foreign policy and to pledge support for the US in all its military adventures.

   Positive: We should be reinforcing our commitment to multilateralism and the United Nations, using our still-good name to solve conflicts through negotiations and peace-making.

4. Co-operating with the US on “North American” security means that Canada will become increasingly insecure as the US - more and more desperate in its competition with China/India for oil and resources - will become ever-more aggressive militarily. As Canada gets drawn into this permanent war stance we become ever more likely targets for terror.

   Positive: Canada should be using its diplomatic services to engage countries of the Middle East on issues such as human rights, economic development, the prevention of terrorism and should be taking a balanced stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict - the key to peace in the region.

5. Why would we want to integrate even more into the US economy? More and more economists and analysts are expression fears that the US economy is headed for disaster: rapidly increasing foreign debt; a huge balance of payments deficit; a saving rate now in negative territory; unprecedented consumer and corporate debt; massive and continuing de-industrialization (the US makes hardly anything any more); an unemployment rate of over 12% (that’s if they calculated it in the same way they did 15 years ago).

   Positive: The Canadian government should be shifting its economic policy to reduce its dependence on the US, look to the growing countries of China, Indian, Russia and Brazil as trading partners, using industrial policy to strengthen our domestic economy, and committing the country to a massive shift to renewable energy as both a response to climate change and the basis for a new economy.

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