Welcome Employees of Manulife,

To send a letter to your CEO to tell him to get out of the SPP click here.

To learn more about the SPP read below then click here

To download a backgrounder on the SPP from the Canadian Labour Congress Click here

What are the SPP and the NACC?

The Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) is the political manifestation of a corporate plan for economic and security integration that was never voted on in any country. Big business lobbies like the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) drafted almost all of the SPP’s 300 initiatives and they continue to be the only Canadian group with any input into the SPP.

In May 2006, Prime Minister Stephen Harper put 10 members of the CCCE onto a permanent high-level advisory board called the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC). This group of 30 CEOs from some of the largest and most powerful corporations has been asked to “prioritize the priorities” in the SPP and to “drive change.” Meanwhile, the public and most of our publicly elected officials have been completely left out of the picture.

Impacts

Thanks to Dominic D'Alessandro, CEO of Manulife Financial, and the NACC, under the auspices of harmonized standards, prosperity, and competitiveness, labour standards are being lowered and more jobs are being exported to other countries. Additionally, the SPP makes it easier for corporations to exploit the incredibly destructive Tar Sands in Alberta and other natural resources, at the expense of the health of people and ecosystems. At the centre of this expansion of corporate domination is the expansion of “homeland security” through the militarization of the continent.

The decisions made through the SPP framework are decisions that should be made by our elected representatives, not just the corporate sector. According to NACC member Ron Covais, the only ministers involved, one from each country, provided the NACC with the directive to “tell us what we need to do and we'll make it happen”, effectively handing 30 CEOs control over our future. The SPP goes directly above all democratic processes and places corporate elites above citizens at the top of the decision making pedestal. "We've decided not to recommend any things that would require legislative changes," says Covais. "Because we won't get anywhere."

Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is one of 30 corporations that has been given exclusive access to the future of North America through the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC). Manulife has grown from an insurance company to a global financial services organization serving millions of customers in 19 countries and territories worldwide. Manulife is the largest life insurance company in Canada and one of the top five in the world
Manulife’s Connections to the Security and Prosperity Partnership

Dominic D'Alessandro is Manulife Financial's Chief Executive Officer and President, sits as a representative of the insurance industry on the NACC and is helping secure an agenda that is making it easier for corporations to drastically increase profit at the expense of their employees and the communities of their employees.

Thomas d’Aquino has been a Board member at Manulife since 2005 and Chief Executive and President of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE). He is Chair of the CCCE’s North American Security and Prosperity Initiative.

Robert J. Harding was brought onto the board of directors of Manulife Financial in 2008. His is also Chairman of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Brookfield is a fellow NACC corporation.

As “the most professional life insurance company in the world” it seems exceptionally pertinent to take stock of the grand implications of the SPP and recognize the adverse effects such an agreement will have on the wellbeing and effectiveness of workers in all sectors. The SPP establishes what amounts to a modern corporate oligarchy that has decided that the fate of the continent is to be unified under he banner of extreme capitalism and the War on Terror, that it is best achieved by conceiving of ‘security’ and ‘prosperity’ as inseparable and mutually reinforcing.

We are requesting that Manulife disclose the extent of its involvement in the NACC and sever all ties with this and all SPP-related activities.

You can help protect our rights, our economy, our environment, our jobs, and our future! We certainly want to as well, which is why we are here today. Here are some simple things you can do:

Write a letter to your CEO: Mr. D'Alessandro holds a lot of power at these closed meetings, and you, the people who hold the key to his power, have a tremendous opportunity to demand that he and the incoming CEO of Manulife pull the plug on the SPP. We have a letter on our website which you can send.

Learn more about the SPP and the NACC: There is plenty of information available on the internet and on our website – www.peaceculture.org

Talk about it! Tell your friends, family and co-workers about it, engage in dialogue with them and with those who are actively researching the impacts of deeper integration with the United States. Those in power are trying to hide the SPP from people because of the negative impacts it is