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Aug. 27, 2007
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Security Prosperity
Partnership: Integration without
consultation
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By Gloria Ichim, an independent writer.
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From August 20th to 21st the Security and
Prosperity Partnership (SPP) meeting took place in Montebello, Quebec.
Canadian Prime Minister Steven Harper, American president George Bush
and Mexican president Felipe Calderon met the Council of
Competitiveness, a group of tri-national business representatives to
discuss North American security and economic integration. President
Calderon described the SPP as the beginning of a new age in the
framework of the relationship between Mexico, Canada and the United
States.
Yet opposition expressed in the form of protests in
Ottawa and Montebello on August 19th and 20th and voiced by Canadian
parliamentarians indicate that while the leaders may support further
integration of North America, the people may have questions as to what
exactly this further integration entails. Since public debate in the
House of Commons did not occur, some Canadian parliamentarians are
concerned about what a future shaped by the SPP means to the Canadian
democratic process. Other Canadians are anxious about what the SPP
means for Canadian military sovereignty.
Profoundly Anti Democratic
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Maude Barlow the chairperson of the Council of Canadians described the SPP as “profoundly anti democratic”
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Statements issued by the Council of Canadians
“Canada’s largest citizen organization” at their public forum on
the same day also indicate that it is not only the substantive content
of this framework that concerns the Canadian citizens, but the fact
that undisclosed discussions occur with consultation of business
leaders rather than civil society or parliamentarians. Maude Barlow
the chairperson of the Council of Canadians described the SPP as
“profoundly anti democratic”.
In contrast to other trilateral trade agreements,
the SPP is not a formal document, but a dialogue which seeks to
further integrate regional security and economic activities. Although
a dialogue may appear to be more benign than an agreement, the fact
that parliamentary debate and scrutiny did not occur was a point of
concern to Canadian parliamentarians, who held in that respect a
public conference in Ottawa on Sunday, August 19th.
With the exception of the Conservatives, all
Canadian political parties, including MP Peter Julian (NDP), MP Bonnie
Brown (Liberal), MP Serge Cardin (Bloc Quebecois) as well as the
leader of the Green Party, Elizabeth May, shared a concern about the
lack of transparency of the SPP process at the Council of Canadians’
public forum. NDP trade critic MP Peter Julian called for “full and
public accountability and public debate and the exposure of the entire
agenda around the SPP.”
Force for the Good?
The integration of foreign policy is another major
concern for Canadians who do not agree with Bush’s public statements
on August 21st that the United States is “a force for good.” While
Bush is pushing for the US to “work with its neighbours to be a
stronger force for good,” University of British Colombia professor
and Canada Research Chair in Global Politics and International Law Dr.
Michael Byers is concerned about US’ desire to see Canadian Armed
Forces take on the role of a “miniature version of the marine
core” fighting shoulder-to-shoulder with America.
Canadian Military Involvement in Afghanistan
Byers is critical of the integration of Canadian
and American military objectives because of the changing role of
Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan from a peacekeeping role in Kabul in
2001 to a military force engaged in combat volunteering to take on the
most dangerous missions in Kandahar in 2006. Currently Canada has the
highest proportion of military casualties - 57% of soldiers killed in
Afghanistan are Canadian.
On the ground in Afghanistan, the result of
Canadian-American military integration is evident in terms of the
change in the treatment of detainees, said Byers at the Council of
Canadians’ public forum. Canada had previously followed the protocol
established by the international community in securing the transfer of
its detainees. Currently, Canada follows American methods, negotiating
with Afghan forces who have a questionable human rights record for
arranging the transfer of their detainees.
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Currently Canada has the highest proportion of military casualties - 57% of soldiers killed in Afghanistan are Canadian.
Photo:
Christina Riley
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Byers also commented that there seems to be a
change in the integration of attitudes of some Canadians and Americans
with regards to the treatment of detainees, “whereby anyone who
stands up for the rights of detainees is showing a lack of respect for
the soldiers.”
On August 21st President Bush announced that the
SPP will become a permanent feature of international relations between
Canada, Mexico and the United States, announcing next year’s meeting
in Texas.
Ask the Canadians first
Does Canada want to be part of a greater regional
integration in North America? This is a question for the Canadian
people to answer. Yet what concerns both Canadian parliamentarians and
the thousands of people who came out to protest the SPP in Ottawa and
Montebello is that this question has not been asked to the Canadian
people in an open and transparent way or even debated under the
scrutiny of our elected parliamentary representatives.
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