Canadians Against SPP

Majority of Canadians Reject SPP and Deeper Integration
Dana Gabriel Intel StrikeThursday, April 17, 2008
On the heels of the Leader Summit in New Orleans, the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) received some more bad news as the North American Union agenda appears to be on the ropes especially in Canada. A poll commissioned by the Council of Canadians reveals that the majority of the country wants the Conservative minority government to protect water, energy, and public regulations, and to back off on integration with the United States.
In the poll, a whopping 86 percent of Canadians agree that the SPP should be debated in the House of Commons and submitted to a parliamentary vote. Maude Barlow, national chairperson of the Council of Canadians, said of the SPP, “while corporations have been given a seat at the negotiating table, the Canadian government has never asked the public, how they feel about it.” The SPP’s fate should be decided by the people in the form of a referendum.
Another part of the poll showed that 87 percent agree that Canada should set its own independent environmental, health, and safety standards, while 89 percent want an energy policy guaranteeing Canadian supply and protecting the environment. In addition, 88 percent of Canadians want a comprehensive national water policy that bans bulk exports of fresh water and recognizes water as a basic human right.
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The SPP’s objectives include removing barriers and securing U.S. access to Canadian natural resources. One half of Alberta’s oil sands production is already U.S. owned. The SPP will lead to the further corporate takeover of Canada’s resources. The U.S. government, along with trinational elites in the private sector, will benefit from a North American resource pact.
In April of last year, the North American Future 2025 Project met and discussed transfers, consumption, and artificial diversion of bulk waters. Leaked documents obtained by the Council of Canadians prove that the Canadian government along with some business elites are actively discussing and pursuing bulk water exports. Connie Fogal, the leader of the Canadian Action Party, has said that the SPP will begin, “the accelerated extraction and delivery of Canadian oil and water resources to the U.S. economy.”
It is no secret that the U.S. has long since coveted Canada’s fresh water, and once this process starts, it would be next to impossible to turn off the tap. What Canada desperately needs is a national water policy that would ban bulk water exports. Canadians need to be aware of the SPP’s plan to integrate and hand over more control and access of their natural resources to the Americans. A sovereign independent Canada must put their future needs ahead of U.S. corporate interests.