The North American Security and Prosperity Partnership

'The SPP puts control of resources, security policy, trade, labour and immigration regulation into the hands of major corporations and puts the welfare of big business over that of communities and citizens'
Montebello 2007

Link: AW@L's Understanding the SPP - Following the Paper Trail

What is the SPP?

The SPP is an anti-democratic agreement which aims to achieve alarmingly deep integration between the governments and economies of Canada, America, and Mexico.

“Deep integration” is a term that refers to the dismantling of the border between Canada and the United States. It could affect everything – the economy, social programs, resources and the environment. Deep integration is the harmonization of policies and regulations that govern the foods we eat, the items we buy, and how we live. It calls for the formation of a new North America that effectively erases the border between Canada and the United States in the interest of trade north of the border and security concerns south of the border. -from Canadians.org

The SPP is inherently anti-democratic because it has never been, nor are there plans for it to ever be discussed by the House of Commons nor the American Congress. The only oversight bodies for the SPP are comprised of exclusively corporate representatives. Public opinion in all three countries has been strong against the idea of integration. This has caused the implementation of the SPP to be driven even further behind closed doors. The specific location of the final round of SPP ratification has yet to be announced. Those meetings will occur somewhere in Canada in 2010.

The SPP is not a treaty nor a piece of legislation. It is an agreement between the Heads of State from each of the three countries. In Canada, the SPP is implemented largely through directives from the Executive Office by particular Ministries. In Canada, the Ministries primarily responsible for SPP implementation are:
Minister of Industry
Minister of Public Safety
Minister of Foreign Affairs

What is the NACC?

The North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) is the primary advisory body for the SPP. It was created at the second SPP meeting in Cancun, 2006. The NACC is made up of 30 CEOs from some of the largest and most powerful corporations in North America. Each of the three Countries also has a ‘Secretariat’ that works to liaise between NACC members and the Executives branches of Government in Canada, Mexico and the United States. The NACC’s mandate is to set priorities for the SPP and to drive the integration process.

NACC Members

Canada
Dominic D’Alessandro, Manulife Financial
Bruce Flatt, Brookfield Asset Management
David Ganong, Ganong Bros Ltd
Richard George, Suncor Energy Inc
Linda Hassenfratz, Linamar Corp
Jacques Lamarre, SNC-Lavalin Group Inc
Gordon Nixon, Royal Bank of Canada
Nancy Southern, ATCO Group
Marc Tellier, Yellow Pages Group
Annette Verschuren, Home Depot Canada

United States
Campbell Soup Company
Chevron
Chrysler LLC
Con-way Inc
ExxonMobil
FedEx Corporation
General Motors Corporation
Kansas City Southern
Lockheed Martin
MetLife
NBCU / General Electric
Procter & Gamble
UPS
Whirlpool Corporation

Mexico
Cesar de Anda Molina, Avicar de Occidente
Jose Luis Barraza, S.A. de CV..
Luis Berrondo Avalos, MABE
Eugenio Garza Herrera, XIGNUX, S.A. De C.V.
Claudio Gonzalez Laporte, Kimberly-Clark de Mexico
Armando Paredes Arroyo, Consejo Coordinator Empresarial
Ismael Plascenia, CONCAMIN
Daniel Seveitje Montull, Grupo BIMBO
Guillermo Vogel, TAMSA American Iron and Steel, North American Steel Council
Jaime Yesaki Cavazos, Consejo National Agropoecuario

NACC Secretariat

Canada: The Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE),
United States: The Council of The Americas and The US Chamber of Commerce
Mexico: Instituto Mexicano para la Competitividad (IMCO)

SPP Working Groups

Traveller Security
Cargo Security
Border Facilitation
Aviation Security
Maritime Security
Law Enforcement Cooperation
Intelligence Cooperation
Bio-protection
Emergency Management
Science and Technology Cooperation
E-Commerce and Information and Communication Technologies
Energy
Environment
Financial Services
Food and Agriculture Regulatory Systems
Health
Manufactured Goods and Sectoral and Regional Competitiveness
Movement of Goods
Transportation
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On the Security Agenda:

In the wake of 9/11, American military thinking returned to a Cold War era notion of ‘Fortress North America.’ This created a “new paradigm” for 21st century security and defence affecting an integration and restructuring of policies and procedures for each country in North America.

Before the SPP was even formalized, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and the US Secretary of State pushed the CAN-US Agreement for Enhanced Military Cooperation and established the Bi-National Planning Group (BPG) in December 2002. USNORTHCOM was created the same year, and on Feb. 1, 2006, Canada Command was created. In Fall ‘06, the NORAD agreement received “expansion and indefinite extension.” The controversial Ballistic Missile Defence program is currently operational.

In February of this year, details of the Civil Assistance Plan (CAP) were released. CAP is a bilateral plan that creates a framework for the militaries of Canada or the United States to enter and operate in the other country upon invitation to assist in “civil emergencies.” The yet-to-be-released Combined Defense Plan (CDP) creates a similar arrangement for law enforcement. The rules of Engagement under CAP are extremely loose as well as flexible.

The BPG already has plans to integrate CAP and CDP in a single document agreement, the proposed Combined Military Interoperability Plan (CMIP).

Also effectively militarized by the SPP and the new security paradigm are Border Services in both countries. This process too, started immediately after 9/11 with the passing of the Smart Border Declaration in 2002. However, since the SPP was first agreed to in 2005, integration and securitization of the border has been drastically sped up and intensified.

“We are launching the next generation of our common security strategy to further secure North America and ensure the streamlined movement of legitimate travelers and cargo across our shared borders. “
-White House Office of the Press Secretary, March 23, 2005, SPP.Gov

“USNORTHCOM and NORAD have synchronized our existing plans, directives, and major operations; established intelligence priorities; and prioritized other resources in pursuit of designated strategic objectives with regard to the Global War on Terror... USNORTHCOM and NORAD contribute to the overarching national goals of countering ideological support for the enemy, disrupting and attacking the enemy, and protecting the American homeland.

...Canada, primarily through Canada Command, is a full partner in these exercises.”
-Admiral T. Keating, Commander-NORTHCOM and NORAD, March 21, 2007

“The boundaries have become blurred between defence, security and law enforcement, resulting in a greater need for bi-national Global Domain Awareness.”
-Lt. Generals Findley and Inge, NA Defense and Security in the Aftermath of 9/11
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On the Prosperity Agenda:

“The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) has enhanced prosperity in all three countries through increased trade and investment, stronger economic growth, and lower prices for consumers. Nonetheless, the NAFTA’s benefits are not universally understood. The public and private sectors in Canada, Mexico, and the United States must continue to promote trade and investment expansion and demonstrate to their respective publics the advantages of enhanced commercial relations with specific examples of successful integration on a North American basis.

The NACC is deeply concerned about isolationist rhetoric and its potential impact on the future of the NAFTA, the SPP, and other bilateral and trilateral efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of our economies. Governments and the business communities of Canada, Mexico, and the United States must work together to reinforce North America’s many strengths in taking on the global competitive challenge, in making communities across North America more attractive places in which to invest and to create new and better jobs, and in ensuring broad public understanding of the significant benefits that flow from liberalized trade and investment within North America.”
-NACC, 2008 Report to Leaders

The constant flow of migrant, temporary workers demanded by proponents of the SPP in addition to the actions of detaining and removal of migrant workers, treats workers as commodities, not citizens. Not only does this have fewer benefits for workers, but it comes with more worker insecurity.

The new Temporary Foreign Worker program (that follows CSAWP) is largely based on Ontario’s labour ‘standards’. This ensures that there are more migrants and fewer immigrants: or, more commodities and fewer citizens with legal rights. This brings policies that treat migrants as workers, not citizens, enables them to pay taxes without receiving the benefits of social programs or government health services and there are many cases of widespread, undocumented abuse for various reasons

The Energy Security Working Group has a goal of securing energy for North America. Massive projects will occur in order to fill the energy requirements of the USA. These projects will cause incomparable ecological damage and unforgivable social disruption. The SPP will also result in the full liberalization of the Mexican energy market which will take significant monetary resources and autonomy out of the hands of the Mexican people as energy corporations rush to the new “free” markets.

In 2006 the “Oil Sands Experts Group Workshop“ called for a two-fold increase in tar sands production to two million barrels a day by 2012, a level which will be exceeded in short time with an anticipated upper limit of 5 million barrels a day (Alberta Chamber of Resources 2004). This five fold expansion from current levels will lead to total ecological system collapse in northern Alberta. Current production in the tar sands are already proving unsustainable as water use and fouling are leading to a health crisis in downstream communities, record low water levels and massive inputs from the energy grid. The Tar Sands are being spoken of as an “Important North American resource” and the only discussion on sustainability of the tar sands development, a development which is already the largest point source emitter of greenhouse gasses on the planet, is whether the market for these products is sustainable.

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AW@L Blogs about the SPP:

SPP – The Merger of North America

Who's Spirit? Whose Security?

Democratic Alternatives to Privatization?

Rabble.ca - Good Morning Manulife, Good Morning SPP
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Below are links to some primary SPP documentation. The layout of these links will be reformatted soon, with expanations of the documents, their interconnection and their relevance. Mostly below are NACC and CCCE documents. We will soon be uploading copies of the related military documentation.