SPP
As the Montebello summit begins and protesters arrive to protest the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), I thought it was time to weigh in with my own views. I neither support nor oppose the SPP as I simply don't have enough information to make an informed judgment and I believe I would be inappropriate to pre-judge this without knowing all the details. That being said, I do have concerns and should the SPP cross any of the red lines I list below, I will oppose it.
Whether one likes the United States or not, we live in a globalized world where we are inter-dependent on each other, so taking an isolationist approach as some advocate is not an option for Canada. We do need to cooperate with the United States on issues that are of mutual interest and can be more effectively dealt with by working together rather than alone. However, closer cooperation with the United States should not weaken our sovereignty. All cooperation with the United States should be based on cooperation between the two in areas we both deem as important, not integration, whether it be falling in line with US policy or submitting our decisions to a trans-national organization that can override national laws. On the whole I believe the Liberal approach is a balanced and reasoned one and wish this was the approach the party took from the beginning when it started the talks in 2005. Such an issue must be brought before the House of Commons where it can be fully debated and if any agreement is signed, it should be put to a vote in the House of Commons. I recommend the Liberals, much like Britain did in the recent EU negotiations, set out some red lines and if the government crosses those, we should vote against it, otherwise vote for it.
- The SPP should not be a stepping stone towards an economic and political union similiar to the EU. The EU only works because it is made up of 27 countries whereby no one country dominates it, so therefore it can only move forward through consensus and compromise. In North America, the United States is much larger than Canada and such arrangement would only undermine our ability to maintain our independent policies as the US would sacrifice little in sovereignty, while Canada a lot.
- The decision to allow or not allow bulk water exports must be made in Canada. There must be no agreement with the United States that mandates us to export any amount of water to them. At the moment, I believe large scale diversions or water shipments are too risky without knowing the full environmental effects, but whether one agrees or disagrees with them, it must be our decision and no one else's.
- We should be free to set our own regulatory standards and any harmonization should be about raising to the highest standard, not a race to the bottom.
- Any cooperation on border standards to allow for the free movement of goods and people should not undermine Canada's sovereignty. We must maintain our right to set our own immigration policies, drug laws etc.
If those red lines are not crossed, we should support it, but if they are, we should not. Also, the issue should not been done in secrecy as this only serves to raise suspicious.
I am not an ultra-nationalist like the NDP and Council of Canadians who seem to believe that we can somehow isolate ourselves from the United States, but neither I am an integrationist or continentalist who believes greater integration with the United States is the solution to our current woes. I believe cooperation as two sovereign nations on issues of mutual interest is the way to move forward.
Whether one likes the United States or not, we live in a globalized world where we are inter-dependent on each other, so taking an isolationist approach as some advocate is not an option for Canada. We do need to cooperate with the United States on issues that are of mutual interest and can be more effectively dealt with by working together rather than alone. However, closer cooperation with the United States should not weaken our sovereignty. All cooperation with the United States should be based on cooperation between the two in areas we both deem as important, not integration, whether it be falling in line with US policy or submitting our decisions to a trans-national organization that can override national laws. On the whole I believe the Liberal approach is a balanced and reasoned one and wish this was the approach the party took from the beginning when it started the talks in 2005. Such an issue must be brought before the House of Commons where it can be fully debated and if any agreement is signed, it should be put to a vote in the House of Commons. I recommend the Liberals, much like Britain did in the recent EU negotiations, set out some red lines and if the government crosses those, we should vote against it, otherwise vote for it.
- The SPP should not be a stepping stone towards an economic and political union similiar to the EU. The EU only works because it is made up of 27 countries whereby no one country dominates it, so therefore it can only move forward through consensus and compromise. In North America, the United States is much larger than Canada and such arrangement would only undermine our ability to maintain our independent policies as the US would sacrifice little in sovereignty, while Canada a lot.
- The decision to allow or not allow bulk water exports must be made in Canada. There must be no agreement with the United States that mandates us to export any amount of water to them. At the moment, I believe large scale diversions or water shipments are too risky without knowing the full environmental effects, but whether one agrees or disagrees with them, it must be our decision and no one else's.
- We should be free to set our own regulatory standards and any harmonization should be about raising to the highest standard, not a race to the bottom.
- Any cooperation on border standards to allow for the free movement of goods and people should not undermine Canada's sovereignty. We must maintain our right to set our own immigration policies, drug laws etc.
If those red lines are not crossed, we should support it, but if they are, we should not. Also, the issue should not been done in secrecy as this only serves to raise suspicious.
I am not an ultra-nationalist like the NDP and Council of Canadians who seem to believe that we can somehow isolate ourselves from the United States, but neither I am an integrationist or continentalist who believes greater integration with the United States is the solution to our current woes. I believe cooperation as two sovereign nations on issues of mutual interest is the way to move forward.
posted by Monkey Loves to Fight at 5:58 PM
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