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Archive for May 7th, 2008

Student Mock Parliament to be held in Montreal Parallels Integrationist Aims of SPP

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

statismwatch.ca
May 7, 2008

From the 25th to the 30th of May, as association styling itself the North American Forum on Integration is hosting a mock parliament for one hundred university students from Canada, Mexico, and the United States. In a press release on the site heralding the creation of the ominous-sounding “Triumvirate”, Raymond Chretien, Canadian Ambassador to the US at the time, crowed that “The creation of a North American parliament, such as the one being simulated by these young people, should be considered.”

Those who hadn’t been aware that today’s generation of young leaders were being groomed to participate in a continental government may note with some interest the presence of Robert Pastor on the board of NAFI. Pastor, author of the now famous “Building a North American Community”, published under the auspices of the powerful (and unelected) American policy thinktank, the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), has long been a powerhouse advocate for the administrative merger of the US, Canada, and Mexico. In addition to authoring various studies in cooperation with the CFR and similarly placed organizations such as the Trilateral Commission and the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, Robert Pastor has served on the US National Security Council, is the director for the Centre of North American Studies, and is also a director at the “Centre for Democracy and Election Management

The Triumvirate agenda for 2008 includes discussions of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (the State Department initiative pushing for harmonization and enhancement of cross-border documents, such as driver’s licenses with integrated biometric data), NAFTA chapter 11 tribunals, and promises “To develop the participants’ sense of belonging to North America.”

The website roguegovernment.org puts the question a bit more bluntly: “What other purpose can be behind this event besides the mass indoctrination of well meaning students?” What indeed. It may be time for Canadians to begin asking themselves the hard questions as well in the interests of this nation’s sovereignty, since it appears that we cannot leave this task in the hands of either our elected leaders or our academic institutions: they have simply passed the ball along to policy thinktanks to do their thinking for them as well.

“For the first time, “North America” is more than just a geographical expression. NAFTA was merely the first draft of an economic constitution for North America… ” — Robert Pastor, “North America’s Second Decade” from Foreign Affairs (January/February 2004)

Triumvirate: The North American Model Parliament

U.S. court ruling on Tasers worries Canadian doctors

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

CBC News
Last Updated: Wednesday, May 7, 2008

A court ruling in the United States about Tasers is causing concern in Canada’s medical community.

The U.S.-based manufacturer of the controversial stun guns, Taser International, has won a court order in Ohio that forces a medical examiner to change autopsy reports.

Dr. Lisa Kohler had found that electrical shocks from Tasers were partially to blame for the deaths of three men in separate confrontations with police.

Taser International launched and won a civil suit, forcing Kohler to delete any reference to the deaths being related to electric shocks, and to term them “accidental deaths.”

Full Story

Border ‘two-headed monster,’ industry minister says

Wednesday, May 7th, 2008

Beth Gorham, CP
May 07, 2008 04:33 PM

WASHINGTON–Mounting delays at the Canada-U.S. border have created a “two-headed monster”‘ that’s not properly serving security or prosperity, Industry Minister Jim Prentice told top business leaders today.

It’s time for significant progress on practical measures to cut costs and reduce barriers to trade and travel, said Prentice, who spoke to the Council of the Americas before President George W. Bush took the podium.

“Not only do we hamper the legitimate trade and travel that provide the foundation for North America’s prosperity but we are also clearly misallocating resources,” Prentice told the crowd gathered in a State Department ballroom.

“The dollars, hours and resources spent investigating legitimate travel and trade are dollars, hours and resources that would be better spent targeting the areas of highest risk.”

Businesses in both countries are bearing the burden of longer delays, higher inspection rates, additional fees and more layers of security, he said.

Canada’s complaints about the border have grown louder since last summer, when delays were hitting up to three hours at some crossings – the longest since the 2001 terrorist attacks.

Full Story | See Also: Continental Business Lobby Releases List of Priorities for Government to Address at SPP Talks | PM voices concerns about ‘thickening’ of U.S. border