Monday, August 20, 2007
Canada, USA and Mexico Secretly Plot the Future
By Myles Higgins
In a strongly worded warning to all Canadians, (after Stephen Harper reneged
on his promises over resource revenues and circumvented the intent of the Atlantic Accord contract), Newfoundland and Labrador
Premier Danny Williams said, “Be careful, if he can do it to us he can do it to you”.
There may never have
been a more prophetic statement made by a Canadian politician.
Bend over and grit your teeth Canada because you’re
about to “have it done to you” in a big way.
Williams’ words might just prove far more accurate than
anyone thought at the time.
Next week, on August 20 and 21, Stephen Harper, George Bush and Mexican President Felipe
Calderon will spend a couple of days quietly sequestered at a hotel in Montebello, Quebec, a location that will not be open
to the public or the press. No cameras will be permitted inside and public discussion of what takes place in those meetings
will be tightly controlled and managed by the three leaders.
While camped out at the Chateau Montebello, a luxury hotel
in Quebec, the three will discuss what is being called the “Security and Prosperity Partnership” or SPP. While
SPP is officially being spun as little more than an opportunity for the three amigos to discuss security and prosperity many
critics are calling the SPP a case of NAFTA (The North American Free Trade Agreement) on steroids. SPP was initiated in March
2005 at a summit of the Canadian, U.S., and Mexican leaders.
The SPP exists only as a verbal entity and is not found
in any official treaty or identified in any government legislation. Instead SPP is based on private discussions between the
leaders themselves and closed-door meetings with big business, lobbyists and political insiders.
From the Canadian
perspective, the SPP is a means of completely overhauling Canadian business, military and social programs without having to
adhere to normal democratic processes or contend with unwanted public scrutiny.
Since none of what is discussed or
agreed upon during SPP meetings is ever reflected in official documents the public has no idea what is being done behind the
scenes and no opportunity to have a say in the nation’s future. A future which, if SPP proponents like Stephen Harper
have their way, will see Canada suffer massive job losses and lead to the destruction of the of social programs and benefits
we all depend on.
One of these secret meetings took place in Sept 2006 in Banff Springs, Alberta. When asked by the
media if he was in attendance Public Safety Minister, Stockwell Day refused to confirm or deny his attendance. He instead
said that “if he was there” it was a "private" meeting that he would not comment on.
"No item — not
Canadian water, Mexican oil, or American anti-dumping laws — is off the table; rather, contentious or intractable issues
will simply require more time to ripen politically." (Leaked minutes of a 2004 meeting of
the Task Force on the Future of North America.)
The North American Competitiveness Council
(NACC) was launched as part of the SPP program in June 2006. It is the only known advisory group to the SPP and the only “tangible”
component of the SPP itself.
The NACC is made up of 30 powerful, hand picked and influential corporate leaders from
the three nations along with a few “special” advisors. According to recent reports the minutes of a January 10,
2006 “Dialogue on the Security and Prosperity Partnership” meeting reveal that the NACC was created to "engage
substantively and pragmatically on trade and security issues without undue deference to political sensitivities."
In
other words, the intention of the NACC is to move the SPP agenda forward without public knowledge, involvement or intervention.
They are tasked with, “making it happen” by circumventing legislative requirements and the democratic processes
itself.
In 2006 Maclean's magazine reported that the NACC is a "cherry picked group of executives who were whisked
to Cancun [Mexico] in March by the leaders of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, and asked to come up with a plan for taking North
American integration beyond NAFTA."
The public is largely unaware what this organization is up to or even of its existence,
let alone that Stephen Harper is actively working toward tighter security, military, financial and corporate integration with
the U.S. and Mexico than ever before.
The dream of the SPP is a North American integration that far exceeds current
trade agreements and will lead to the erosion of trade unions, lower wages and limited control over resources such as petroleum,
water, minerals, forest resources, et cetera and the like. It will also lead to an intertwining of Canada’s military
with that of the U.S, widespread job losses and the erosion of federal programs such as universal healthcare in an attempt
to more closely align with U.S. policies and programs.
Currently Stephen Harper and his cronies are playing their cards
very close to their chests. With a minority government it’s his only option. Many observers believe that should the
Prime Minister win a majority in the next election the SPP will move toward full implementation of its agenda at a much faster
pace.
The whole situation makes me wonder if Harper’s refusal to let the Atlantic Provinces retain the benefit
of their natural resources might actually have been decided at one of these secret SPP meetings. I guess we’ll never
know, nor will we know when or where the next shoe might fall.
Like Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Danny Williams
said, “Be careful, if he can do it to us he can do it to you.”
Myles
Higgins, who lives in Portugal Cove-St. Philips, Newfoundland & Labrador, is a Canadian freelance columnist who writes
on political and social issues for a number of publications. His columns can also be found on his web site, Web Talk - Newfoundland and Labrador, and he can be reached at higginsmyles@yahoo.ca.
