Rally aims to raise questions
Transparency is needed with Security and Prosperity Partnership, says Calgary man

Jason Ronald
Echo Reporter
Wednesday February 13, 2008

Airdrie Echo — Canada, the United States and Mexico have entered into an agreement that is designed to harmonize regulations on many different aspects of life.
The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) has a "principle aim of lowering costs for North American businesses, producers, governments and consumers; maximizing trade in goods and services across North America’s borders; and protecting health, safety and the environment" of all three nations, according to the SPP website.
But many people are opposed to this partnership. They view it as a threat to the sovereignty of each nation, in part due to what they feel is lack of transparency with which the prime minister and his counterparts are handling the meetings.
One such person is Al Pujo of Calgary. Pujo is a fairly average young man. He plays bass in an indie band called Guttural. He describes himself as "an average Joe" and a "hardcore patriot" of this country.
"I’m much more interested in music than political action," Pujo said.
But the SPP has spurred the young man into action. Even though he has never organized any type of political event before, he’s organizing one now.
This Saturday, 1-4 p.m., at Calgary City Hall, a rally against the SPP is set to run. The rally, organized by Pujo, is one of 17 across the country, with others taking place in Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal, Kelowna, Cornwall and Fredericton, to name a few.
The idea to have rallies against the SPP comes from the Canadian Action Party, a political party of which Pujo is not a part.

"It’s a non-partisan rally," he said.
When Pujo first heard about the SPP, he didn’t think much about it. He thought it sounded fairly harmless, like NAFTA, he said. Even when he first started to look into it, he didn’t see much to be concerned about.
But Pujo found credibility in the information he was reading on the New Democratic Party of Canada’s website. After that the more he read about the SPP, the more concerned he became.
He found more information on the Green Party’s website that mirrored the opinions of the NDP.
From Pujo’s perspective, the way the PM and his American and Mexican counterparts are dealing with this partnership is undemocratic.
"I find it disturbing, almost Orwellian," he said.
As such, Pujo wants to raise awareness about the SPP and – like the NDP and the Canadian Action Party – he would like to force a referendum on the issue.
For this Saturday, he expects a turnout of somewhere between a couple hundred and a thousand people. He started a Facebook group about the rally, on which 480 people have said they might show up. He also sent information about it to Oxfam, Greenpeace and the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE).
The SPP was started by former prime minister Paul Martin, President George W. Bush and former president Vicente Fox.
One issue regarding the SPP that disturbs Pujo is the creation of a pan-american highway from Churchill, Man., through the U.S. and into Mexico.
Further goals of the SPP include: enhancing North America’s competitive position; providing input on the compatibility of the nations’ security and prosperity agendas; strengthening the North American energy market by improving transparency and regulatory compatibility; developing a common approach to critical infrastructure protection and response to cross border terrorist incidents and natural disasters, across such sectors as transportation, energy and telecommunications; and collaborating to establish risk-based screening standards for goods and people that rely on technology, information sharing and biometrics.
According to the SPP website: "The commitments made in the SPP recognize that a disaster – whether natural or man-made – in one North American country can have consequences across national borders, and may demand a common approach to all aspects of emergency management."
Nonetheless, Pujo feels it is incumbent on everyone to educate themselves and ask the pertinent questions about what the Security and Prosperity Partnership means.
"It’s our duty as citizens to question our leaders," he said.


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