There has been a lot of talk (maybe, maybe too much talk...for the U2 fans in the room) about the trilateral talks between Canada, Mexico and the United States and I am sure there is more to come. My first annoyance is all the questioning of Canada's sovereignty. It didn't much scratching of the surface to expose the ugly underbelly of the Canadian inferiority complex.
However I am one who favours starting at first principles. In this spirit let us look at what the three North American leaders actually said. (Hat-tip Blogette)
... In a rapidly changing world, we must develop new avenues of cooperation that will make our open societies safer and more secure, our businesses more competitive, and our economies more resilient.
Our Partnership will accomplish these objectives through a trilateral effort to increase the security, prosperity, and quality of life of our citizens. This work will be based on the principle that our security and prosperity are mutually dependent and complementary, and will reflect our shared belief in freedom, economic opportunity, and strong democratic values and institutions. Also, it will help consolidate our action into a North American framework to confront security and economic challenges, and promote the full potential of our people, addressing disparities and increasing opportunities for all.
As per my title, these are Mom and Apple Pie statements. What leader does not want to make sure their citizens are safe, prosperous and free?
This is part is interesting:
...The Partnership is trilateral in concept; while allowing any two countries to move forward on an issue, it will create a path for the third to join later.
If one country, oh I don't know, dithers
on a policy the other two countries can go ahead without them. There is your bone MP Layton and MP Duceppe. You now have full permission to jump up and down about not joining "George Bush's Plan" to do, um to do, let's just say to do really bad stuff...
Here are some specifics on Security:
- Implement common border security and bioprotection strategies;
- Enhance critical infrastructure protection, and implement a common approach to emergency response;
- Implement improvements in aviation and maritime security, combat transnational threats, and enhance intelligence partnerships; and
- Implement a border facilitation strategy to build capacity and improve the legitimate flow of people and cargo at our shared borders.
Prosperity:
- Improve productivity through regulatory cooperation to generate growth, while maintaining high standards for health and safety;
- Promote sectoral collaboration in energy, transportation, financial services, technology, and other areas to facilitate business; and invest in our people;
- Reduce the costs of trade through the efficient movement of goods and people;
- and Enhance the stewardship of our environment, create a safer and more reliable food supply while facilitating agricultural trade, and protect our people from disease.
This is where it gets scary for the left. The word health is explicitly included. The Liberal Party will spin it that the phrase "high standards for health" means that our health care system will be protected (and I see that happening) whereas the NDP will spin it that we are going to "American-style" credit-card health.
"Sectoral collaboration in energy": means using American wealth to help develop the Alberta Oil Sands and selling extra oil to the United States. You either think this means increasing the prosperity of Canadians while enhancing the security of the United States or you think we have given up sovereignty.
"Enhance the stewardship of our environment": you know that set of alarms bells in the MP Layton and the MP Duceppe offices. However the United States has done more for their environment outside of the Kyoto Protocol than we have inside of it. Furthermore, would you rather they use oil developed from Northern reserves or continue to use Coal Power with the resultant smog migrating north.
I actually give Prime Minister Martin credit for working on this. It shows some of that "vision thing" that he has been lacking in.
