Greens blast secretive NAFTA-Plus trade-security deal

GREEN PARTY OF CANADA http://www.greenparty...
GREEN PARTY OF THE UNITED STATES
http://www.gp.org...

For Immediate Release:
Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Contacts
Green Party of Canada:
John Chenery, Director of Communications,
416-452-6016, jchenery@greenparty.ca
Green Party of the United States:
Scott McLarty, Media Coordinator, 202-518-5624,
mclarty@greens.org
Starlene Rankin, Media Coordinator, 916-995-3805,
starlene@gp.org


National Green parties join forces to fight North
American Union

? Canadian and US Greens campaign against
'Security and Prosperity Partnership of North
America' and plan cross-border Counter Summit
when heads of state of Canada, US, and Mexico
meet in Montebello, Quebec, August 20.

? Secretive deal between Prime Minister Harper,
President Bush and President Calderón is a
blueprint to further integrate the three
countries? trade, economic, energy, defence and
security policies, and which is being implemented
undemocratically by bureaucratic committees with
no public oversight.

? During one-day Counter Summit, Greens from the
US and Canada will discuss the history,
mechanics, and implications of the Security and
Prosperity Partnership, and plan strategies for
opposition


WASHINGTON, DC/OTTAWA, ONT. -- Green Party
leaders in Canada and the US are alerting their
respective parties and the public about the
'Security and Prosperity Partnership of North
America' (SPP), a secretive deal between
President Bush (US), Prime Minister Harper
(Canada), and President Calderón (Mexico).

Green Party of Canada leader Elizabeth May
stated, "The SPP is integrating the military,
security, trade, economic, regulatory, and
foreign polices of Canada, the US, and Mexico
without public input or Parliamentary or
Congressional scrutiny. The threat of widespread
surveillance of citizens, greenhouse gas
emissions from tar sands development and
'super-corridors,' increased fossil fuel
dependence, privatization of water, erosion of
food safety and environmental regulations, and
expanded corporate power at the expense of
economic stability for working people -- these
are some of the reasons we oppose the SPP."

North American Green Parties are calling for
transnational opposition, beginning with a
'Counter Summit' teach-in and strategy session
August 20 in Ottawa to coincide with a meeting of
the leaders of Canada, the US, and Mexico at the
third annual summit in Montebello in nearby
Quebec. The Green Party of the United States has
endorsed the Counter Summit and will send
representatives. Greens will also participate in
civil society opposition to the Montebello
Summit, with two days of activites planned for
August 19 and 20.

Dr. Janet M. Eaton, International Trade Critic
with the Green Party of Canada, who spoke about
the SPP at the annual meeting of the Green Party
of the United States in Reading, Pennsylvania, in
July, said:

"The SPP, also called 'NAFTA-Plus' within a
'security trumps all' framework, is the next big
step in moving from a free trade agreement to a
customs union and some suggest common market and
eventually a union like the European Union."

"But we should heed the words of the Secretary
General of the European Greens, Juan Behrand, who
said that the process for North American
integration does not resemble the democratic and
consultative European Union model."

Eaton said that the so-called North American
Partnership is fraught with profound implications
for sovereignty and Constitutional and Charter
rights.

"The Bush, Harper, and Calderón administrations
are taking their countries down a dark road to a
future where decisions are made in virtual
secrecy by undemocratic supranational
organizations such as the North American
Competitiveness Council. This group of powerful
corporate leaders represents the large
transnational companies that stand to profit from
the SPP's globalist economy, an economic model
which has been largely recognized as a failure
when it comes to protecting working people and
the environment," said Dr. Julia Willebrand,
co-chair of the US Green Party's International
Committee and co-president of the Federation of
Green Parties of the Americas.

Greens dispute claims by NAFTA proponents that
NAFTA has proved successful and that the SPP is
the logical and necessary next step. Green
Parties have called for withdrawal from and
renegotiation of NAFTA, and for enactment of
'fair trade' policies where economic, social and
ecological justice take precedence over corporate
profit and privilege and the short term economic
demands of investors.

""Security and Prosperity are attractive goals.
The use of these words disguises that the
Harper-Bush agenda undermines true security by
imperiling global eco-systems, revving climate
change into over-drive, and ignoring the needs to
protect true peace and prosperity through
flourishing, open democratic process. The
'Security and Prosperity Partnership' scheme
deserves widespread public exposure and
opposition," said Elizabeth May.

Greens warn of numerous dangers if SPP remains
unchallenged, including:

? Super-corridors lined with oil, gas, and water
pipelines, which will carve up arable land,
damage biodiversity across North America, and
increase fossil fuel consumption and emission of
greenhouse gases.

? Military and security integration of the US,
Canada, and Mexico, with an expansion of
surveillance over private citizens and forced
forced subordination of Canada and Mexico to
imperial US military goals.

? Privatization and unconstrained exploitation of
natural resources for the benefit of US-based
corporations, e.g., Mexico's state-owned oil
industry and Canadian watersheds.

? Erosion of food safety standards

? Empowerment of the North American
Competitiveness Council (NACC), which gives
corporate leaders access to government
information and resources while denying the
latter to civil society leaders.


MORE INFORMATION

Green Party of Canada
http://www.greenparty...

Green Party of the United States
http://www.gp.org...
202-319-7191, 866-41GREEN
Fax 202-319-7193
? Green Party News Center
http://www.gp.org/new...
? Green Party Speakers Bureau
http://www.gp.org/spe...
? 2007 national Green Party meeting in Reading,
Pa.: video footage, blog and media coverage
http://www.gp.org/mee...

Green Party to Host SPP Counter-Summit
http://www.greenparty...
[Counter-Summit agenda included]

The Security and Prosperity Partnership: Why We
Need to Take a Closer Look at Continental
Integration [displaying a map of North American
Super-corridors]
http://www.greenparty...
Security and Prosperity Partnership Q&A
http://www.greenparty...

"Green Party of Canada Takes on the SPP Alerting
US Greens and Planning Cross Border Summit!!"
By Dr. Janet Eaton, International Trade Critic,
Green Party Shadow Cabinet
http://www.greenparty...

"Threats to Our Water: NAFTA, SPP,
Super-Corridors, Atlantica"
By Dr. Janet Eaton, PhD. Power Point with images
and photos
http://www.greenparty...


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