Canada’s Independence Threatened by Task Force Recommendations

“Canadians have been more concerned with the budget vote and rising support for the Bloc Quebecois, but the truth is that this task force has implications for the future of Canada that are just as important as those events,” says Susan Thompson, founder and President of Vive le Canada.ca. “The task force’s recommendations have far-reaching implications and will affect everything from our regulatory framework to how we handle security and foreign relations to our very identity. These recommendations are a radical step towards defining ourselves as North Americans rather than Canadians, and they lack any recognition that it is crucially important that we retain our ability to make unique democratic decisions as a nation, especially while the U.S. becomes increasingly aggressive and unilateral under the Bush administration.” In a report released on May 17, the Task Force recommends that the Canadian government make a number of changes to speed further economic integration of Canada and Mexico with the United States. Those recommendations include reviewing excluded sections of NAFTA, such as water, and removing any existing barriers to energy, which critics say would threaten Canada’s own domestic energy security. Vive le Canada.ca points out that far from offering a balanced view, the task force is also comprised of strong proponents of deep integration, and its recommendations were inevitably going to be in support of deep integration. Members of the task force include Wendy Dobson, who argued for deep integration in a Border Paper for the C.D. Howe Institute; Tom D’Aquino, head of the Canadian Council for Chief Executives, an organization that argued for deep integration under the name of a North American Security and Prosperity Initiative; and co-chair John Manley, former Deputy Prime Minister of Canada and another outspoken proponent of free trade. “It’s bad enough that we still haven’t re-evaluated NAFTA after more than a decade of trade problems and Liberal campaign promises to do so, or that Prime Minister Martin already signed away more of our sovereignty at the Waco Summit with the Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America and the 40-point smart regulation plan. Now we have to contend with these new recommendations that say we should go even further and abandon whatever shreds of national sovereignty we have left.” “NAFTA has been bad enough. NAFTA Plus will be much worse, and Canadians at least deserve the chance to decide for themselves whether our government should adopt these recommendations. This issue should be a key issue in the next federal election, whenever it is held,” Thompson says. Vive le Canada.ca was launched in 2003 and has rapidly become the best source for news and information on the debate over North American economic integration. The web-based organization currently has over 1300 members across Canada and receives thousands of hits a day. Vive le Canada.ca recently launched a ribbon campaign opposing deep integration with the United States, and has asked like-minded websites and individuals to participate. Details are available at: http://www.vivelecanada.ca/staticpages/index.php/ribbon -30- Fore more information contact: Susan Thompson, President and Founder Susan.thompson@vivelecanada.ca (780) 624-5229 [Proofreader's note: this article was edited for spelling and typos on May 23, 2005]

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Canada’S Independence Threatened By Task Force Recommendations

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