http://winnipegsun.com/News/Winnipeg/20 ... 3-sun.html


Sun, February 17, 2008

Trilateral dealings dissedClosed-door talks between Canada, U.S., Mexico opposed
By ROB NAY, SUN MEDIA

Protesters marched through downtown Winnipeg yesterday to draw attention to a trilateral agreement they feel could be harmful to Canadians.

"We think there should be greater openness," said Michael Welch, one of the local organizers of the rally against the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP).

He said a national referendum should be held to determine whether Canada should be involved with the partnership.

Similar protests against the SPP were set to take place in Edmonton and Toronto yesterday.

Started in 2005, the SPP is a trilateral agreement between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. According to the Canadian government's website, the SPP "promotes ways for the three countries to work together in areas as diverse as national security, transportation, the environment and public health."

CONTROL OF RESOURCES

Rally participants said they're frustrated with the closed-door nature of SPP meetings, the lack of information available to the public and the possibility of losing control over Canada's resources, such as water.

"I don't want to see my country sold down the drain," said Dorothy Wigmore.

More than 100 people converged at City Hall early yesterday afternoon before marching to the Manitoba Legislature.

"We have to wake up, Canada," Welch told the crowd before the march.

Protesters shook plastic bottles filled with jelly beans in response to a comment Prime Minister Stephen Harper made last summer about rules governing the ingredients of jelly beans being different in Canada and the U.S.

'JELLY BEAN'

"Is the sovereignty of Canada going to fall apart if we standardize the jelly bean?" he said during a North American summit in Montebello, Que. "You know, I don't think so."

Signs carried by protesters at the Winnipeg rally read "Harper, whose flag are you saluting?" and "Canada is not the 51st state."

At the Legislature, a handful of speakers addressed the crowd.

"We have to put a crack in the wall of secrecy," said MP Judy Wasylycia-Leis (Winnipeg North). "We have to speak up when we're dealing with such a secretive agenda."