From: The Council of Canadians
<http://integratethis.c.topica.com/maanejQabRyLdcdokLleaehmRL/
INTEGRATE THIS!
ACTION ALERT: DEMAND A SAY IN
NORTH AMERICA'S FUTURE The next North
American leaders summit - where Canada, the United States and
Mexico have met to discuss progress on the Security and
Prosperity Partnership is less than four weeks away and
Canadians have been told nothing about it.
The
U.S. State Department has posted that the meeting will take
place August 8 to 11, but Canadian embassy officials in Mexico
would not confirm this date when asked. The Guadalajara Reporter
says the leaders will meet in the central Mexican city of
Guadalajara, but the White House will not confirm that either.
President Barack Obama promised in February 2008 that all future
North American leaders summits "will be conducted with a level
of transparency that represents the close ties among our three
countries, and that he will seek the active and open involvement
of citizens, labor, the private sector and non-governmental
organizations in setting the agenda and making progress."
With
so little time before the next summit, and so little information
about the agenda, this promise is unlikely to become a reality.
We are even more disappointed that Prime Minister Harper has
made no such promise of inclusivity, despite the clearly stated
concerns of Canadians across the country over the past several
years.
DEMAND
A SAY IN NORTH AMERICA'S FUTURE
We
need you to help get the word out that Canadians, Mexicans and
Americans are once again being excluded from the North American
dialogue. Cooperation across borders is necessary and beneficial
when it is in the interests of all peoples, but the SPP was
about a very narrow, corporate version of cooperation that put
profits before people. The SPP perpetuated and expanded an
unsustainable energy and trade model while placing new barriers
to the movement of people in the form of draconian security
measures.
TAKE
ACTION!
In the
lead up to the next North American summit you can do two things:
1.
Write to the Prime Minister (pm@pm.gc.ca) and cc your MP to let
them know you oppose the SPP model of North American integration
and will not tolerate our leaders re-starting it in Mexico this
August. Click HERE
<http://integratethis.c.topica.com/maanejQabRyLecdokLleaehmRL/ to
find your MP's contact information.
2.
Write a letter to the editor of your local paper asking why the
Canadian government is being so secretive about where the next
North American leaders summit will take place and what is on the
agenda. Use this opportunity to explain to your community what
was wrong with the SPP, and how secretive and exclusive a
process it has been. Click HERE
<http://integratethis.c.topica.com/maanejQabRyLfcdokLleaehmRL/
to find email addresses.
To
inspire your letter, please read through the
<http://integratethis.c.topica.com/maanejQabRyLgcdokLleaehmRL/
Integrate This! website or use the sample letter below.
Click
here
<http://integratethis.c.topica.com/maanejQabRyLhcdokLleaehmRL/
to
read the Guadalajara Reporter article.
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear Prime
Minister Harper,
I
understand from recent news reports in Mexico and the calendar
on the U.S.
State
Department website that the next North American leaders summit
will take place this August 8 to 11 in Guadalajara, Mexico. Why
have you not informed Canadians about this meeting? Will you
commit to not re-starting the failed Security and Prosperity
Partnership dialogue, which was unpopular in Canada, Mexico and
the United States, at this meeting?
President
Obama said in February 2008 that all future North American
leaders summits "will be conducted with a level of transparency
that represents the close ties among our three countries," and
that he "will seek the active and open involvement of citizens,
labor, the private sector and non-governmental organizations in
setting the agenda and making progress."
We believe
the SPP failed not only because of its policy implications, but
because it excluded public opinion and considered only the
interests of North America's largest corporations, who received
privileged access to leaders through the North American
Competitiveness
Council -
a 30-member blue-chip advisory group that is not accountable to
the public.
The vision
of North American security and economic integration these
corporations proposed simply expanded and fortified (with new
security measures) an unsustainable trade and energy model.
Canadians, Mexicans and Americans are all calling for new models
that put people and communities before corporate profits.
I urge you
to release a list of your government's priorities for the
upcoming North American summit in Mexico, commit to not
re-starting the failed SPP dialogue, and to give Canadians a
chance to shape our priorities for North American cooperation.
We will not tolerate another tri-national dialogue that only
considers the opinions of the big business community.
I look
forward to your response.
Sincerely,
[Your
name]
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