I have been empowered to make this callout with my own voice, by a group of people in Winnipeg who are organizing to resist the Hemispheria 2006 Summit. The summit is being planned by North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition (NASCO, recently merged with the North American International Trade Corridor Partnership, NAITCP). NASCO has been lobbying the American government for years to build an 18-lane superhighway down through the centre of the North American continent. The project would include rail and gas, oil, water, and electrical pipelines. It would be the infrastructure to complete the liberalization of trade between Canada and the U.S., and it would serve to channel the raw material from land in Canada to the central economy in the U.S. At Hemispheria 2006, the economic elite will discuss the future of: immigration, the Smart Border, and cultural integration.
Please join me, and respond to the Hemispheria Summit 2005 call for competitiveness. Appeal to the Government, Mayors, and entrepreneurs of Canada (and Mexico and the U.S.) to:
- Abandon the FTAA and NAFTA
- Ensure that the Canadian government prioritizes “green” energy, i.e., wind and solar power generation.
- Open the Canadian border to welcome all people flying from oppressive governments, climatic crises, and war. Canada ought to welcome migrants, refugees, and war resisters with open arms.
- Promote co-operation and co-operatives. People in Canada ought to be encouraged to manage their homes and land co-operatively and ecologically. Economic power ought to be decentralized. Localize authority over land, natural resources, and raw materials.
- Empower the people in Canada to develop ecological land management plans for all of Canada’s undeveloped land.
- Be transparent. Do not keep silent about the harmful and negative activities of powerful corporations in Canada. Foment education by making education accessible, i.e., free.
- Fight racism, intolerance for religions, and the “security” agenda.
- Cease all subsidies to corporations. Destroy all special rights accorded to corporations.
The following link reveals the Canadian Government’s movement away from the defense of people and land in Canada:
NASCO - Mid-continent Corridor, http://www.nascocorridor.com/.
The following document the Canadian Government’s movement away from an inclusive democracy:
The Smart Border Declaration: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/anti-terrorism/can-us-border-en.asp
Border Cooperation http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/can-am/main/border/default-en.asp
32-point Action Plan http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/can-am/main/border/32_point_action-en.asp
The Immigration and Refugee Protection Act http://laws.justice.gc.ca/en/I-2.5/index.html
The Safe Third Country Agreement http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/policy/safe-third.html
The following document the redefinition of our friends and enemies, based on biology and behaviour:
Nexus http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/travel/nexus/menu.html
"Perimeter clearance strategy: to realize a Smart Border for the 21st century" a power point presentation prepared by the Coalition of Perimeter Clearance, composed of members of the Canadian Tourism Commission, http://www.parl.gc.ca/37/2/parlbus/commbus/senate/Com-e/fore-e/witn-e/phillips-e.pps
The North American Summit “Hemispheria 2006” will bring together governors, premiers, mayors and entrepreneurs from across Mexico, the United States and Canada to consider key issues related to the competitiveness of the North American economy. The summit will also bring together North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition (NASCO) which promotes trade and transportation connections along the mid-continent trade and transportation route.[1]
The planned transportation corridor would be nearly a quarter-mile wide. It would include road and rail traffic. It would incorporate oil, gas, electric, and water lines. Networks of toll roads will function primarily to connect U.S. roads to networks in Mexico, Central and South America, and Canada.[2]
NASCO
North America's Supercorridor Coalition (NASCO, http://www.nascocorridor.com/) "focuses on the needs of the highways it represents, but also on the multimodal corridor as a whole – highways, rail, aviation, inland port intermodal facilities and technology. NASCO’s goal is to make the corridors it represents the world’s first fully international, integrated, intermodal trade and transportation corridor in North America.”[3]
NASCO describes itself as a public/private, non-profit corporation seeking to create an international trade corridor system throughout North America, secure funding for certain projects, and promote the development of International Trade Processing Centers. A lobbying group, linked to other lobbying groups, it is partnered with the North America’s Supercorridor Caucus in Congress and working with Senate committees on a Multi-State International Corridor Development Program. Tim Brown, a Bell County, Texas Commissioner is President.[4]
“NORTH AMERICA'S SUPERCORRIDOR COALITION” is currently a lobby registrant (number 30352189) in the U.S. House of Representatives.[5]
The US Senate website, indicates a registrant/client relationship for which a filing was received by the SOPR. In any case, many registrants have since terminated the lobbying activity with respect to clients listed. The number does not indicate "ACTIVE" or "CURRENT" status, merely that a filing had been received pursuant to the LDA:[6] The registrant is OCONNOR & HANNAN (and the client is NASCO).NASCO’s brand image was developed by a company called Project Partners[7]. "Project Partners was my ’right arm’ for the International Transportation Forum at AllianceTexas. We could not have done it without them." Said Paula Baucum, Director of Marketing North America’s SuperCorridor Coalition[8].
The NAITCP (http://www.naitcp.org/) is a ‘partnership of cities of Mexico, the United States and Canada linked by a trade corridor that works to promote economic and social development in our region.’ NAITCP just held its 11th annual summit in San Pedro, Mexico, May 11-13. That meeting was called ‘Hemispheria, the North American Convergence Summit,’ and featured working groups on ‘Trade and Transportation Corridors in North America, Smart Borders, and Cultural Integration.’[9]
CNATCA
The Central North American Trade Corridor Association (CNATCA, http://www.cnatca.org/) aims to encourage ‘continued economic integration between the three North American countries and to foster greater collective involvement in the emerging global economy.’ CNATCA’s project, the Central North American Trade Corridor, extends from Alaska through the Canadian provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, through North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, the Oklahoma panhandle, and Texas, and then south of the U.S. border to Mexico City.[10]
“Lawsuits based on environmental issues have delayed implementation of these provisions, but in June 2004, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that environmental reviews were not required. The latest holdup is an agreement on safety standards, UPI reporting in March 2005, that Mexico would not allow U.S. safety inspectors to check trucks on its side of the border.”[11]
As of June 10th, 2005, President Bush was continuing to demand Congressional approval of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA). Many legislators (even those who express outrage over present U.S. border problems) had caved, as of June 10th.[12]
Contact
If you or your group wants to organize, if you have more information regarding Hemispheria 2006, or if you want more information, please contact:
umschwin@cc.umanitoba.ca
Footnotes:
[1]http://www.ndpcaucus.mb.ca/thisweek/ThisWeekArchive105.html
[2] http://www.cuttingedge.org/news_updates/nz1896.htm
[3] http://www.catransco.org/Links/Transportation_links.htm
[4] http://www.cuttingedge.org/news_updates/nz1896.htm
[5] http://clerk.house.gov/pd/houseID.html?reg_id=30352
[6] http://www.senate.gov/pagelayout/legislative/b_three_sections_with_teasers/clientlist_page_N_O.htm
[7] http://www.yourprojectpartners.com/index.asp?page=3#top
[8] http://www.yourprojectpartners.com/index.asp?page=4
[9] http://www.cuttingedge.org/news_updates/nz1896.htm
[10] ibid.
[11] ibid.
[12] ibid.
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