NetRoots

With the North American Montebello summit starting on Monday, many Canadians who welcome tri-lateral discussion on security and prosperity nonetheless have concerns about both the transparency and accountability of this partnership.

The intention to forge common policies on issues as far reaching as health, food, and pesticide standards; foreign policy; energy sharing; immigration; emergency response to pandemics; military cooperation; trade regulation; and environmental protection would seem to require a much fuller disclosure to the people who elected them than has so far been forthcoming, yet to date there has been no debate in parliament. Even the Council of Chief Executives, who deserve much of the credit for advancing the SPP, bewail the lack of information available to the public. Adding to our concern is the fact that even as we are not being kept informed, unelected representatives in the form of the invited business interests will be making presentations which cannot reasonably be expected to take into account the interests of all Canadians.

At issue:

• Should Canadian foreign policy fall even more into line with that of the US war on terror, both our national safety and our role as international peace-keepers will be severely compromised.
• NAFTA has already weakened our control over foreign ownership of our resources and the regulations governing them. SPP would accelerate this process.
• Increased exploitation of the Alberta tarsands to meet the fossil fuel requirements of the US will increase air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
• The sharing of security information with the US will put Canadians at greater risk of human rights violations such as those which befell Maher Arar.
• Canada’s social safety net will be compromised by any attempt to harmonize it with the much weaker US policies.

With the NDP and Green Party calling for a halt to any further SPP negotiations, and Mr Dion demanding greater transparency with regard to them, the Honorable Mr Peter MacKay has reponded, “I don’t think the SPP should be viewed in a conspiratorial way. It should be viewed for what it is. It’s a way to enhance our collective interests in North America.”

As both our sovereignty and our right to a democratic process appear to be in jeopardy here, I would be interested in a response to these points from any of our resident political candidates.

Thank you.