SPP: Letters to Stockwell Day - P. Julian, et al

SPP: Letters to Stockwell Day - P. Julian, et al

Postby Oscar » Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:17 am

July 26, 2007

The Honourable Stockwell Day, P.C., M.P.
Minister of Public Safety
House of Commons
Ottawa, Canada K1A 0A6

Dear Minister Day,

I am greatly disturbed by the news that a peaceful, democratic teach-in planned to coincide with the latest summit around the so-called Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), to be held August 20-21 in Montebello Quebec, was cancelled because the town council was informed by the federal government that this was an unacceptable use of a civic community centre.

The Municipality of Papineauville, which is about six kilometers from Montebello, has informed the Council of Canadians that the RCMP, the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the U.S. Army will not allow the municipality to rent the Centre Communautaire de Papineauville for a public forum it had planned on Sunday August 19, 2007.

The teach-in was a peaceful community gathering that would have been held to discus the SPP, a Liberal initiative that has been continued by your government. The SPP is not a signed treaty. The NDP succeeded in obtaining hearings in the International Trade committee to discuss the impact of the SPP on Canada's sovereignty and on the lack of transparency and democratic debate around this process. However, your Conservative Party representatives on the committee shut down those hearings, when testimony started to have a real impact among Canadians.

The organizers of the event in Papineauville were simply trying to have public discussion on an issue on which your government refuses to provide any transparency. It is greatly disturbing to us that your government is essentially, through the pretext of security, refusing that any democratic discussion or debate take place on this issue within 25 km of the summit site.

As you well know Mr. Day, this initiative that you refuse to bring forward to Parliament for democratic debate and Parliamentary oversight involves merging Canada's social, economic, and security policies and institutions with those of the U.S., thus reducing protection in as many as 300 areas, including pesticide use, food safety and air safety, as well as establishing control from Washington over Canadian national resources - including energy. Similar wrong-headed policies lead to the softwood sellout, which has cost Canadians thousands of jobs.

I am concerned about trying to conceal the real extent of the SPP agenda from Canadians. I am greatly concerned about the refusal to allow democratic debate in any community within 25 km of the security zone of the closed door meeting. Please rescind your government's directive to the Municipality and allow the public forum in Papineauville to proceed as planned.

Sincerely,

Peter Julian, MP (Burnaby-New Westminster),
NDP Trade Critic
Last edited by Oscar on Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:59 pm, edited 2 times in total.
Oscar
Site Admin
 
Posts: 9079
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm

Postby Oscar » Wed Aug 01, 2007 9:58 pm

From: Gary Schoenfeldt
Sent: Wed 01/08/2007 7:47 PM

Dear Minister Day,

I am writing to you regarding the secretive topic of the North America Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP). I have previously communicated on this subject, on 24 July 2007, to my Member of Parliament, Mr. Tom Lukiwski,(Conservative Party of Canada, Regina-Lumsden-Lake Centre) and have not received an answer.

What I want to know from Mr. Lukiwski, or any MP who would care to answer, is why your government refuses to discuss this all-encompassing "partnership" with the Canadian Parliament and the Canadian people.

Apparently your government is having yet another in a series of secret meetings on the SPP, this time near Montebello, Quebec, to discuss with everyone except the Canadian people, whatever was discussed previously in a secret meeting held some time ago at Banff, Alberta.

What's with all this secrecy?

Why are the Canadian people and Parliament not privy to the topics under discussion?

I heard that all kinds of American and Canadian businessmen and American politicians, not particularly friendly to Canada, have been invited while Canadians have been banned from attending, within 25 km, a meeting that is taking place on OUR NATIONAL TERRITORY!

As a member of the Council of Canadians, I was outraged to hear that a public forum near Montebello with writers, academics and parliamentarians wanting to speak about the Security and Prosperity Partnership was blocked because the police and - of all things - The U.S. Army, wanted the community centre it was to be held at as a base of operations for security throughout the August 20-21 SPP Summit.

What in God's name is the U.S. Army doing interfering with Canadian citizens' right of free assembly and free speech on Canadian soil?

Why are Canadian police being deployed to prevent Canadians from expressing an opinion on a Liberal initiative that your government is continuing to secretly negotiate with corporate and foreign interests?

If this SPP is so important to Canada, I would suggest that Canadian citizens, not just Canadian businessmen controlled by U.S. interests, should be consulted.

Why American politicians and policy advisors would be admitted to such a meeting before discussions have taken place in the House of Commons is beyond my powers of comprehension.

I am not aware of the Canadian government being given such a mandate by the Canadian people.

Nor was the SPP, to my knowledge, ever presented to the Canadian public during the last election.

In fact according to CNN’s Lou Dobbs, the American public and the Mexican public are not being consulted either.

If this an example of how Canada’s New Government regards transparency and accountability, with all due respect, it does not look any different from how the Liberals used to do things.

The teach-in was a peaceful community gathering that would have been held to discuss the SPP.

Although the SPP was another disgraceful project of the discredited Martin Liberals, (and on those grounds alone, to use the Harper Conservative logic, should have been discarded long ago as unworkable and ineffective), the SPP is not a signed treaty, and it has never been voted on in the House of Commons, but your government is passing laws and funding SPP-related projects as if the agreement had the backing of Parliament and the Canadian people.

The Council of Canadians was simply trying to have public discussion on an issue on which your government refuses to provide any transparency.

It is greatly disturbing that your government is essentially, through the pretext of security, refusing that any democratic discussion or debate take place on this issue within 25 km of the summit site.

As I indicated to Mr. Lukiwski, I am concerned about the appearance that Canada's Conservative minority government is, with no justification, trying to conceal the real extent of the SPP agenda from Canadians.

I am greatly concerned about the refusal to allow democratic debate in any community within 25 km of the security zone of the secret closed - door meeting.

Please, Mr. Day, break with the tradition established by the Martin Liberals and err on the side of democracy: Rescind your government's security directive and allow the peaceful protest in Montebello proceed as planned.

I look forward to your response.

Sincerely,

Gary Schoenfeldt,
Regina, Saskatchewan
Oscar
Site Admin
 
Posts: 9079
Joined: Wed May 03, 2006 3:23 pm


Return to TRADE AGREEMENTS

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 0 guests

cron