Thread: High-Level Meeting Aimed At Integrating North America

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/arch ... c6604.html - did


High-level meeting aimed at integrating North America says Council of Canadians

OTTAWA, Feb. 9 /CNW Telbec/ -

North American integration will be the
primary focus of a high-level trinational meeting scheduled for February 23,
says the Council of Canadians. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and
Secretary of Homeland Security Michael Chertoff will be in Ottawa to meet with
Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day,
Trade Minister David Emerson and their Mexican counterparts.
"While recent media reports have claimed that the meeting will focus on
border security," says Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of
Canadians, "we know that the goal of this meeting is to advance a much larger
corporate-led agenda for North American integration - something our government
has been very secretive about."
A September 2006 report issued by the governments of Canada, the U.S. and
Mexico stated that the upcoming meeting would take place in order to "review
progress" on the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and "develop
concrete initiatives" in preparation for the leaders' summit expected to take
place in Kananaskis in June 2007.
"The Security and Prosperity Partnership goes beyond simply the passport
issue," says Jean-Yves Lefort, trade campaigner for the Council of Canadians.
"The agreement calls for 300 policy changes in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico and
gives wide-ranging powers to the business elite without any consideration for
the public interest or the environment."
The North American Competitiveness Council, a business advisory body to
the SPP representing North America's largest corporations, will be presenting
recommendations at the upcoming meeting.
The Council of Canadians is demanding that Canada cease all further
participation in the Security and Prosperity Partnership and that Stephen
Harper consult with Canadians in a meaningful way on Canada-U.S. relations.



For further information: Meera Karunananthan, Media Officer, (613)
233-4487 ext. 234, cell: (613) 795-8685, meera@canadians.org

We have enough dissent in our country as it is. How on earth will this help?

Bush should not have the right to give away America. this needs a vote by the American people not by our corrupt politicans.

Originally Posted by Beckyal

Bush should not have the right to give away America. this needs a vote by the American people not by our corrupt politicans.

As well as we should vote on this illegal immigration mess!

I know Bush isn't listening to us, but you would think an advisor would tell him to address Americans on this NAU issue!

We can hope these Canadians make a lot of noise about this.
Any politicians in this country want to make noise about it? Any takers out there???

Canadian news again. Is this reported anywhere in the US?

http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/new ... f3&k=52122

U.S. Secretary of State Rice to visit Canada

Mike Blanchfield
CanWest News Service


Tuesday, February 13, 2007



CREDIT: Loay Abu Heykel
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice.

OTTAWA - As a prelude to a visit to Canada by U.S. President George W. Bush later this year, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will visit Ottawa this month for meetings with Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay.

Rice and U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff will be joined in Ottawa on Feb. 23 by their Mexican counterparts, for a day of talks with MacKay and Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day.

The meeting will be the latest installment of the three-way North American security and prosperity partnership and will set the table for a follow-up to last year's Three Amigos Summit in Cancun, Mexico, which will be held later this year, somewhere in Canada.

No date has been set for the summit, which U.S. officials said Monday could be pushed back to the fall.

The visit would be Bush's second to Canada.

The accord is intended to strengthen security co-operation between the three North American neighbours, while fostering co-operation on a wide range of trade and regulatory issues to safely speed the flow of goods between the three countries.

Business leaders have long supported what is sometimes referred to as a NAFTA-plus initiative, or a way of building on the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Critics in Canada and the U.S. say the partnership could compromise the sovereignty of both countries, and that the accord is a part of a covert way to create a common currency for North America. But the U.S. State Department has said that it is not interested in creating a North American Union, akin to the European Union, or encouraging its neighbours to adopt the U.S. dollar.

Last year's meeting marked the first time Harper and Bush met after the Conservatives came to power.

The leaders' summit that will take place later this year will be the first three-way meeting involving new Mexican President Felipe Calderon.

Bush spearheaded the creation of the partnership in March 2005 with former prime minister Paul Martin and ex-Mexican president Vicente Fox.

Ottawa Citizen