SPP’s prospects are iffy with Bush short on political capital and Harper in a minority government

For five years, critics have warned of a secretive process to integrate Canada and Mexico into a greater America. Call it the big idea, harmonization or annexation; call it the Waco SPP process. No matter. Most Canadians haven’t heard of it.

The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), which was formally started in Waco, Texas by the three ‘Amigo’ governments of North America in March 2005, hasn’t registered with the public. But that is bound to change.

The critics have a secret weapon they never knew they had—George W. Bush. Bringing one of the most unpopular presidents ever to Montebello Que., a pleasant drive from Ottawa, on Aug. 21, is bound to awaken Canadians to what’s afoot. Summit leaders will issue bland words like prosperity, security, and a North American community. But that won’t cut it. Canadians, like Americans, suspect anything associated with Bush.

When Canadians discover what’s in the SPP, they won’t like it. It was the same 20 years ago. Canadians liked the idea of ‘free trade,’ but turned against the agreement when they learned it was really about corporate rights, unlimited U.S. access to Canadian energy, and a threat to Canadian sovereignty. Only a vote split on the contra side between Liberals (32 per cent) and NDP (20 per cent) enabled Mulroney’s pro free-trade Conservatives to win with a 43 per cent vote in the 1988 election.

Veterans of the ‘free trade’ battle, like Thomas D’Aquino, who leads the push for the SPP, don’t want to dance with public opinion again. So, they hold meetings behind closed doors, inviting only corporate executives, government ministers, and senior bureaucrats. No Joe publics, nor opponents. They want to avoid alarming public opinion.

The SPP’s key advisory body, the North American Competitiveness Council, has 30 CEOs from the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Ron Covais, listed at the Lockheed Martin Corporation as president, the Americas division, chairs the U.S. section of the Competitiveness Council. He told Maclean’s that, “we’ve decided not to recommend any things that would require legislative changes … because we won’t get anywhere.”

The strategy is do the SPP surreptitiously, by regulatory changes and Cabinet decisions, all of them removed from the eyes of Canadians and Parliamentarians. Avoid elections on it. Use harmless and boring messages to describe the many decisions, which when added up, would remove much of Canadian and Mexican sovereignty.
But after Bush’s visit, Canadian SPP promoters will have to win a public campaign. It will be difficult. They are running out time. Bush has little political capital left, and only 15 months until the next presidential election. Harper’s minority government may not last that long. So, the SPP’s prospects are iffy.

But, the negative effects of five years of SPP mentality have been felt, not least on the consciousness of senior federal civil servants. Unlike most of the citizens they are paid to serve, they don’t think ‘Canadian’ anymore.

The SPP promises to send us further down a foolhardy path towards energy insecurity. The United States, Britain, Sweden and other countries are giving prominence to national “energy independence,” making plans to ensure “energy security” and connecting these to climate change policies. In contrast, Canadian bureaucrats are stuck in continentalist thinking. They assume that Canada has unlimited oil and gas surpluses to export.

Enjoy this post? Share it with others: