Taking to the Streets
Thousands gather in Ottawa, in Montebello and across Canada to
oppose the SPP
Whose security and whose
prosperity is the SPP protecting?
That’s the question
that was on the lips of
citizens in August, as U.S.
President George Bush and
Mexican President Felipe Calderón met
with Prime Minister Stephen Harper in
Montebello, Quebec.
The meeting sought to further entrench
the Security and Prosperity Partnership
of North America, an agreement that
has not been debated by any legislature
and has been kept secret from citizens in
Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.
Thousands of people took to the streets
from August 19 to 21. On Parliament
Hill, in Montebello and in communities
across Canada, Council activists came
bearing protest signs and petitions, some
in costume, others carrying food for
hungry protesters. It was a colourful and
creative crowd, unified by the demand
that the SPP be brought to the public
and Parliament for a full debate.
The Council of Canadians brought
hundreds of people together at a public
forum on August 19, packing an auditorium
at the University of Ottawa. Maude
Barlow, along with civil society representatives
from the U.S. and Mexico, condemned
the SPP and promoted a vision
of a more just and sustainable North
America.
The Council had originally planned to
hold the forum in Papineauville, Quebec,
just six kilometres from where the leaders
met on August 20-21. But the RCMP
intervened, forcing the municipality to
cancel our reservation at the last minute.
Thanks to generous last-minute donations
from outraged Council supporters, we were able to secure an alternative
venue for the forum.
So we made do with a smaller room in
Ottawa, and unfortunately we had to
turn away at least 100 people on Sunday
night, as more than 500 people stood
and crouched in the aisles of the auditorium,
hungry for more information
about the SPP and how to fight it.
“The SPP extends George Bush’s War
on Terror, with its fixation on bombs,
borders and bibles, to Canada and
Mexico,” warned Council Chairperson
Maude Barlow that evening. “[But] we
are going to stand up loud and clear and
say no to this agenda, not just because
of Canadian environmental concerns,
and Canadian workers’ concerns and our
concerns about health and safety … but
because if we allow this to happen on
this continent, it’s going to become the
blueprint for the world, and we are not
going to do that again,” she said.
MONTEBELLO BOUND
The next morning, we boarded the
bus to Montebello, carrying more
than 10,000 letters from Council of
Canadians members demanding a moratorium
on SPP negotiations and a debate
with the public about its implications for
Canadians. We had originally negotiated
with the RCMP to drop the letters at the
gates of the Chateau Montebello. But
within minutes of the planned delivery,
we received an email from RCMP indicating
that the Department of Foreign
Affairs was preventing us from taking the
letters to the gates.
Instead, the Council of Canadians led
a march of about 1,200 people along
the streets of Montebello, carrying with
us those 10,000 voices. We parked our
boxes of letters in front of a line of security
personnel in riot gear, and led the
crowd in a chant, “No to the SPP. Yes to
democracy!” In doing so, we joined with
Council chapter activists in more than
30 communities across Canada who participated in our National Day of Action
Against the SPP.
OPPOSITION MOUNTING
Thanks to support from members, the
Council of Canadians was able to produce
and distribute hard-hitting research
on the SPP in the weeks leading up to
the summit. We gave out more than 600
copies of our citizen’s guide to the SPP,
Behind Closed Doors: What they’re not
telling us about the Security and Prosperity
Partnership of North America that weekend,
and more than 30,000 people
downloaded the report from our website
in the month of August alone.
All of the major political parties, with the
exception of Harper’s Conservatives, have
been critical of the SPP and the secrecy
behind it. Even the North American
Competitiveness Council – the all-CEO
advisory group that has been intimately
involved in the development of the SPP
– has admitted that the legislatures of
Canada, the U.S. and Mexico should
“remain fully informed about progress
and actively engaged in the process” of
implementing the SPP.
This is a far cry from the Council of
Canadians’ call for public scrutiny and
debate, but we see it as recognition of the
fact that citizens won’t stand for secrecy
around the SPP any more.
DEMOCRACY’S ALIVE
As Maude Barlow said, “The stakes are
very high here. And we have the opportunity
not only to defeat something that
is profoundly wrong for our peoples and
for the sustainability of our planet, but to
promote something very, very different.”
While the Harper government continues
to laud the SPP and ignore our call for
greater transparency, the Montebello
summit came with a silver lining. Both
the Quebec police and big business were
forced to make striking admissions, as
a direct result of collective public pressure.
This serves as a reminder that citizens
must remain vigilant in defending
democracy and protecting the public
interest.
Thanks to help from Council activists,
the Harper government can no longer
ignore the demands of Canadians: a better
and fairer North America.
For more information about the SPP
or the Council of Canadians, visit our
website at IntegrateThis.ca or call
us at 1-800-387-7177.
Ariel Troster is the Publications Officer
at the Council of Canadians, and Editor of Canadian Perspectives.
Photo credit: Christina Riley
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