Cumberland BC: The Cumberlander Articles Section
Uncategorized · 18th August 2007
Editor, with permission.
International talks worry Council of Canadians
Comox Valley Record
Aug 17 2007
Concerns about discussions between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico will be discussed Monday in the Comox Valley.
A summit meeting being held this month by the leaders of the three countries could have serious ramifications for Canada, the local chapter of the Council of Canadians says in a news release.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. president George Bush, and Mexican president Felipe Calderon are to meet Aug. 20 and 21 in Montebello, Que., to discuss the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America.
Local CoC executive member Andrew Black says he is worried that any international agreement signed by the three countries would be dominated by the U.S.
“Virtually every area of public policy would be ‘harmonized,’ including defence, foreign policy, energy — they get security, we get greenhouse gases — culture, social policy, tax policy, drug testing and safety, and much more,” said Black.
Corporate chief executive officers on advisory committees are “basically calling all the shots and running the whole show,” says John Camp, chair of the local CoC, who has been studying the subject extensively and attended an information conference put on by the national CoC.
In an effort to bring the issue some much-needed attention locally, the CoC’s Comox Valley Chapter has scheduled a public forum for Monday at 7 p.m., upstairs in the BCGEU building, at Eighth and Fitzgerald in Courtenay.
It’s to be part of a network of local SPP-awareness activities planned by the CoC, including demonstrations in Ottawa and other locations to coincide with the summit, and various events put on by local chapters across the country.
“The public is invited to help us develop strategies for defending our Canadian democracy and sovereignty by stopping the SPP,” says Camp. “It’s an agenda promoted by those who care more about money, markets and corporate power than they do about life, people, culture, values, our country and our nation.”
Gwyn Frayne, past chair of the local CoC, said the CoC believes that water, another item on the SPP agenda, will be the issue of this century.
The Aug. 20 public forum will include videos featuring prominent and knowledgeable speakers on the SPP and deep integration.
Also planned is a PowerPoint presentation from the Sierra Club’s Water Privatization Task Force, entitled Threats to Our Water: NAFTA, SPP, Super-Corridors, Atlantica.
A question period and discussion will follow the presentations.
Comox Valley Record
Aug 17 2007
Concerns about discussions between Canada, the U.S. and Mexico will be discussed Monday in the Comox Valley.
A summit meeting being held this month by the leaders of the three countries could have serious ramifications for Canada, the local chapter of the Council of Canadians says in a news release.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. president George Bush, and Mexican president Felipe Calderon are to meet Aug. 20 and 21 in Montebello, Que., to discuss the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America.
Local CoC executive member Andrew Black says he is worried that any international agreement signed by the three countries would be dominated by the U.S.
“Virtually every area of public policy would be ‘harmonized,’ including defence, foreign policy, energy — they get security, we get greenhouse gases — culture, social policy, tax policy, drug testing and safety, and much more,” said Black.
Corporate chief executive officers on advisory committees are “basically calling all the shots and running the whole show,” says John Camp, chair of the local CoC, who has been studying the subject extensively and attended an information conference put on by the national CoC.
In an effort to bring the issue some much-needed attention locally, the CoC’s Comox Valley Chapter has scheduled a public forum for Monday at 7 p.m., upstairs in the BCGEU building, at Eighth and Fitzgerald in Courtenay.
It’s to be part of a network of local SPP-awareness activities planned by the CoC, including demonstrations in Ottawa and other locations to coincide with the summit, and various events put on by local chapters across the country.
“The public is invited to help us develop strategies for defending our Canadian democracy and sovereignty by stopping the SPP,” says Camp. “It’s an agenda promoted by those who care more about money, markets and corporate power than they do about life, people, culture, values, our country and our nation.”
Gwyn Frayne, past chair of the local CoC, said the CoC believes that water, another item on the SPP agenda, will be the issue of this century.
The Aug. 20 public forum will include videos featuring prominent and knowledgeable speakers on the SPP and deep integration.
Also planned is a PowerPoint presentation from the Sierra Club’s Water Privatization Task Force, entitled Threats to Our Water: NAFTA, SPP, Super-Corridors, Atlantica.
A question period and discussion will follow the presentations.
