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***PLEASE FORWARD
WIDELY***
November 2, 2008 To our Allies and Neighbours, As some people may have been informed, in South-West Ontario, today has been declared a regional Day of Action against the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). A little over a month ago, a callout was sent from Anti-War@Laurier (AW@L)—an activist group in Kitchener-Waterloo—asking for autonomous actions targeting companies on the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) and Federal "(Mis)-representatives." The motto for the day is simply, "challenge corporate power." This letter is asking for something equally simple. Check out AW@L's new NO SPP campaign page and consider taking some sort of local action, such as contacting your local MP or targeting a NACC company in your community. The SPP is an agreement between the Government Executives of Canada, the US and Mexico. Its only official advisors are the corporate elites of the NACC. The SPP reveals a militarized corporate oligarchy and their implementation of, what has been called, "NAFTA on crack." It is imperative to focus on education about, and taking action against, the SPP, because as more information becomes publicly available, the deeper ramifications of this undemocratic partnership become alarmingly apparent. Some of the most disturbing initiatives of the SPP include the following. First, there is the creation of Canada Command and an "expansion and indefinite extension" of NORAD, resulting in a newly militarized 'Fortress North America' supporting the American 21st century Global War on Terror. Second, the post-9/11 Smart Border Declaration has been expanded, Americanizing (and in turn, militarizing) our border policies. The same has been occurring with countless trade, health, regulatory, and environmental policies. Finally, the Tar Sands expansion is a linchpin of the SPP. Both the SPP and the five-fold expansion of Tar Sands production that it calls for are tied to energy security, military securitization of infrastructure, expansion of unethical migrant labour programs at the expense of immigration, more destruction of Indigenous land and rights, and the notorious "NAFTA Super-Highway/corridors." It needs to be understood that the military and corporate agendas of the SPP play off of each other; post-9/11, the US military pushed for a closing of the border, so the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) pushed for a new continental trade vision that projects military and economic security as "inseparable." The CCCE, along with a few select Government Ministers, combined with efforts of the US Council on Foreign Relations, US Chamber of Commerce and the Council of the Americas, all convinced the North American Heads of State to agree to the SPP. Some people have denied that the SPP exists at all, but government websites and a massive paper trail say that the Agreement is very real and far reaching. Some members of the NACC, as well as some critics of the SPP, have recently suggested that the partnership is dead. However, both SPP documents as well as critics have also said that, while the SPP agreement and the NACC formal advisory process may come to end, it will only be to have them replaced by newer agreements that pursue advanced versions of the same agenda. Recently, Liberal and Conservative advisors have indicated that a major upcoming task for Canada will be to convince the new American President to stick with NAFTA, which means sticking with the SPP. The military agreements and restructuring, the energy plans, the border securitization and law enforcement militarization, the environmental destruction and the waves of deportation and persecution of immigrants and minorities—these injustices will not be undone by a newer articulation of "deep integration." In response, we urge people to take action and say no to the SPP. Challenge corporate power and target NACC companies and federal (mis)representatives. Having examined the ramifications of the SPP from primary source documents and notable analyses, we feel it is paramount to make this information readily accessible. Part of our presentation of this research is available as a document called Understanding the SPP – Following the Paper Trail. We hope that it will be a useful resource in the effort to make sense of the integration agenda of the modern corporate oligarchy. We appreciate any feedback or communication that anyone has to offer. In peace and solidarity,
Anti-War @ Laurier (AW@L)
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