Put the SPP to a vote, say prominent Canadians

    OTTAWA, Oct. 12 /CNW Telbec/ - Maude Barlow, David Suzuki, Ken Georgetti,
Maher Arar and Monia Mazigh are sending Prime Minister Stephen Harper a letter
today demanding that his upcoming Throne Speech include a commitment to submit
the controversial Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP)
to a vote in the next parliamentary session.
    They are calling on Stephen Harper to make good on his earlier promise
"to submit significant international treaties for votes in Parliament" by
bringing forward the SPP for parliamentary debate and a vote in the House of
Commons.
    So far, only 30 CEOs from North America's richest corporations, including
Lockheed Martin, Bank of Nova Scotia, Chevron, Power Corporation and Merck,
have had any meaningful input. Only they have been invited to annual
closed-door meetings of SPP leaders and ministers, such as the one that took
place in Montebello, Quebec in August.
    Labour, environmental and social justice groups argue that the SPP,
launched in 2005 by the governments of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, has
already led to lower standards in a number of different policy areas.
    The partnership's stated goal of making North America safer has been
called into question by the Canadian public due to some of the its more
controversial initiatives such as Canada's "Passenger Protect" no-fly list,
and the harmonization of pesticide residue limits and toxic chemical
regulations.

For further information: Meera Karunananthan, Media Officer, Council of
Canadians, (613) 233-4487 ext 234, (613) 795-8685 (cell), [email protected];
www.canadians.org