Prosperity/security plan flying under the radar

Today, Aug. 20, U.S. President George W. Bush will visit the Quebec town of Montebello as it hosts the third summit of the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States to discuss progress in an initiative known as the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). The SPP is a tri-lateral initiative to create a single integrated, harmonized, and deregulated North American economy that deals with security, energy and trade.

In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center, a group of select heads of the richest businesses in Canada, the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE), called on all three governments to integrate their economies. It is as if they heeded U.S. Ambassador Paul Celluci's warning that "security trumps trade" by moving to secure, at any cost, the American export market. Continental economic and security integration was born with the announcement of the SPP in Waco, Tex., in 2005. The dominant role of the corporate sector was later formalized by the formation of the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) to direct this initiative.

Undemocratic initiatives

There is something inherently wrong with this initiative that makes it unsupportable before one even considers security and prosperity. That something? It is undemocratic at its core. A pillar of democracy is the concept that authority should derive from the people who are governed; the SPP does not provide that.

Our democratically elected leaders have no say. The SPP does not involve Parliament. Somehow, these changes and policy decisions of security and economics, a role of cabinet, have not come to the floor of Parliament.

Undemocratic realities even characterize the actual meeting in Montebello. The RCMP and the U.S. army have denied the Council of Canadians access to a community centre six miles away from the meeting place. What's more, the current government is restricting public debate on the issue by being the only party to refuse to debate at a forum in the nation's capital.

Not in our best interest

While security and prosperity are things we strive for, deeper study reveals the truth that the SPP is not what it appears. The security components of SPP act to reduce our civil liberties. Compromising our presumption of innocence and due process are an inherent consequences of a smart border and no-fly lists. Flaws of the prosperity components centre around the fact that prosperity of big business guides policy, not people, through free trade principles that reduce our sovereignty and increase corporate privileges. One case in point: U.S. companies are free to claim rights to Canadian bulk water.

What it all means

The issues of SPP are significant and go to the heart of Canadian sovereignty, democracy and thus our identity. Yet there is neither a parliamentary nor a public opportunity for consultation and debate. Security and prosperity through the SPP are not what they seem. Without awareness or action by the people, today's meeting will result in a further loss of democracy.

Bill and Kenneth Kavanagh

Council of Canadians

St. John's chapter