The Peterborough - Kawarthas Chapter of The Council of Canadians
Campaigns: Deep Integration
As Canadians, we increasingly have to struggle to remain an independent nation and forestall deeper integration with the United States.
The Deep Integration with United States Chapter Program for 2005-06 began with the Maude Barlow event on November 14, 2005, followed by monthly Chapter highlights of one sub-issue per month (e.g. water, health care, culture, trade and investment agreements, agricultural regulation).
Recent Timeline on Deep Integration
MARCH 25: As reported in the Globe and Mail, Canada, the United States and Mexico pledged to seek ways of collaborating if they are separately conducting free–trade talks with other countries – after what International Trade Minister David Emerson called a "watershed" NAFTA meeting for the 12–year partnership. The three countries aren't suggesting they will jointly negotiate future trade deals as a bloc in the same manner as, say, the European Union. But they said they'll examine how they might co–ordinate bilateral discussions if two or more were negotiating separately with another country outside NAFTA. "We said we should see how far we can go in collaborating on discussions and negotiations of incremental new free–trade agreements," Mr. Emerson said after a North American free–trade agreement commission meeting in Acapulco, Mexico. The countries promised to "examine how our three countries might collaborate in trade agreements with other countries" and report back in six months.
MARCH 30: As reported by the Toronto Star, the Canadian Embassy in the United States has spent $18,000 to have "huge signs and banners posted in seven strategic subway stations in the District of Columbia and suburban Virginia tout the Canadian contribution in Afghanistan, showing that the fight Stephen Harper calls "our war" is also meant to curry favour in Washington. The poster features a Canadian soldier, weapon in hand, standing alongside Afghans, with the words, "Canadian Troops in Kandahar, Afghanistan. Boots On The Ground."
MARCH 30–31: The so–called "Three Amigos Summit" in Cancun dramatically advanced the agenda of deep integration by making the three governments directly answerable to a new North American Competitiveness Council and mandating ministers to meet with business leaders – an unprecedented development. This latest development clearly puts business leaders in the driver's seat and gives them the green light to press forward for a North American model for business security and prosperity.
APRIL 4: In the Speech from the Throne, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's government calls the United States "our best friend" and commits Canada to building "stronger multilateral and bilateral relationships, starting with...the United States." It also indicates Harper's support for "a stronger military" and our commitment to "combat global terrorism."
APRIL 10: Prime Minister Stephen Harper allows a "take note" debate (meaning a debate with no vote) on Canada's role in Afghanistan. Perhaps one of the most disappointing aspects of this debate was that, as Robert Fife reported on the CTV National News, the House had just 89 of the 308 Members of Parliament present at the start of it and that low number quickly dwindled to just 35.
APRIL 27: Prime Minister Stephen Harper announces a softwood lumber deal with the United States. Canada has won numerous legal battles before North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) tribunals. On March 17, Canada won its second major softwood legal victory under the NAFTA, which essentially slashed most of the punitive duties being levied against Canadian lumber exports. Despite this, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Michael Wilson sought a negotiated settlement with the U.S.
MAY 4: Cindy Sheehan, anti–war activist and mother of an American soldier who was killed in Iraq, appeals to Canadians for support at a press conference in Ottawa. She joined the War Resisters Support Campaign and the Council of Canadians in demanding that the federal government make a provision allowing U.S. soldiers resisting war in Iraq to be granted sanctuary in Canada. Immigration Minister Monte Solberg refuses this request.
MAY 8: Members of Parliament vote on a new NORAD agreement. As defence analyst Steven Staples writes,...What are the implications? Parliamentarians have plenty to be concerned about. Most important, adding maritime responsibilities does nothing to resolve, and could only complicate, sovereignty and territorial disputes between Canada and the United States, especially in the Arctic, where the U.S. considers the thawing Northwest Passage to be international waters, not Canadian."
MAY 17: At 3:45 pm, as the flag on Parliament Hill flew at full–mast despite the death of Captain Nichola Goddard in Afghanistan, Prime Minister Stephen Harper rose in the House of Commons and introduced a motion to extend Canada's military operations in Afghanistan for an additional two–years beyond the original February 2007 deadline. The motion passed by a 4–vote margin of 149 to 145. Just hours before the non–binding vote, the prime minister said in the House that, "We will proceed cautiously with a one–year extension. We cannot walk away quickly. If we need further efforts or further mandate to go ahead into the future, we will go so alone and go to the Canadian people to get that mandate."
JULY 6: Prime Minister Stephen Harper is scheduled to meet with President George W. Bush in Washington. What's likely to be on the agenda? An Ottawa Citizen report states, it will be "...a meeting that will "result in a closer working relationship between our security and intelligence forces," Canadian Ambassador Michael Wilson said yesterday." The Globe and Mail reported that, "The ambassador has been telling U.S. legislators that Canada's Conservative government has some continuity with Liberal policies, but is making an accelerated effort on such issues as defence spending and security, measures that Americans have been seeking."
Brent Patterson
Director of Organizing
The Council of Canadians
bpatterson@canadians.org
