statism watch

There is a battle on for the soul of this country. It is not being conducted in our national legislature, blind and neutered by the Harper gang, but in innumerable councils and summits churning out a patchwork of treaties and accords safely insulated from accountability to the people. Now we know what Schwarzenneger was really up to in BC: to sit down and sign an economic and environmental treaty spanning BC, Oregon, Washington, and California. Under the auspices of the ‘Pacific Coast Collaborative’s most recent MOU, Gordon Campbell has once again signed away a little bit of British Columbia’s sovereignty by executive fiat. You can watch the leader’s brief video statements here. While specifics from within the summit are hard to come by – unless of course you’ve gone looking for the non-searchable PDF press release found here that calls for a ‘Pacific North America’ by 2030 – the general idea was summed up by the Governator when he said “More and more, the UN and the national governments recognize that the ’sub-national’ governments are really the ones that, in the end, can put the pressure on and create the action that is needed…” This is precisely the end run around federal sovereignty the UN called for in the days prior to Copenhagen’s failure. For green taxation, this signals a regrouping. For Canada, this spells the death of economic sovereignty by a thousand cuts. For more of the thinking behind this, see the Richard Florida article from 2007, Toronto part of ‘transnational mega-region’.

Flashback: Let the Olympic surveillance begin | B.C. to get license-plate scanning system | Cops with cameras future of policing: Vancouver chief | Bombshell UN Climate Documents Reveal Planned “End Run” Around National Sovereignty | Jim Prentice: Implement A ‘North American Climate Change Regime’ | Leaked G20 Documents Shed Light on Global Carbon Tax | Copenhagen, carbon, and the global corporate agenda | Think Tank Report: Obama Will “Press The Reset Button” On North American Union Agenda | Vancouver kicks off quest for ways to fund transportation system | Obama should rename the SPP, set up two speeds on integration with Canada and Mexico, says new report | Ontario unveils cap-and-trade legislation | NRTEE Carbon Market Panel is ‘Round Table on Socialist Planning’ | Climate panel presses for federal cap-and-trade system | U.N. ‘Climate Change’ Plan Would Likely Shift Trillions to Form New World Economy | U.N. Environment Head Wants Global Warming Tax | Harper Govt. to push North American carbon market plan with Obama | Ontario joins continental WCI cap-and-trade scheme | B.C. carbon tax kicks in on Canada Day | They call it cap and trade, but it’s just another fuel tax | Quebec, Ontario sign historic climate pact | CEOs call for ‘aggressive’ action on climate change | Vancouver to import road tolls from UK

Alixandra Gould, Huffington Post
February 12, 2010

Just hours before the 2010 Olympic Games officially kicked-off, the Pacific Coast Collaborative–established in 2008 and consisting of Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of Washington Christine Gregoire, Secretary of State of Oregon Kate Brown, and Premier of British Columbia Gordon Campbell–gathered in Vancouver to discuss issues of mutual interest. One thing was clear, if action is going to be taken on the environment, it’s going to have to start at the local level.

The four leaders had just finished a meeting in which they went over cap-and-trade systems, the hydrogen highway, ocean health, renewable energy, and high-speed trains. At the end of the press conference, the four leaders signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which committed them to collaborate with each other and federal officials to develop renewable energy and improve the air quality of their ports.

Alaska is also a member of the PCC, but was not able to send a representative to the meeting.

The star of the event was no doubt Governor Schwarzenegger, who ran with the Olympic torch through the streets of Vancouver earlier that morning. “We’re united, there’s no two ways about it. Politically, ecologically, we speak with one voice,” he said. Keeping with the athletic theme, he continued, “There’s no sports team that ever has won without being together and being one unit, and all running the same direction and having one plan.”

“We saw at Copenhagen that national governments and the national community has not yet been able to come to an agreement to reducing green house gas emissions. The UN and the national governments have realized that the sub-national governments are really the ones in the end who can put the pressure on and engage the kind of action that is needed.”

The United States federal government currently only has a 2.8 per cent renewable profile, a number Schwarzenegger would like to change through the example of the PCC.

Schwarzenegger said it’s his intention to continue building the hydrogen highway all the way up to Canada. He also said that developing a high-speed rail from Dan Diego all the way to Vancouver is crucial. “It makes no sense for our trains to move at the same speed they did one-hundred years ago. Economic power is how fast you move people and goods around.”

After expressing her gratitude to Premier Campbell for allowing the Olympic torch to make a quick pit-stop over the border in Washington a few days ago, Governor Gregoire said, “Environmental sustainability is economic strength. It won’t only be great for our environment, but for the people of our respective states and province, because those are the jobs of tomorrow.”

She also drew attention to the fact that they all share an ocean, and that it’s critically important to maintain its health, and the health of their shared fisheries. “Our action should not allow borders to be a barrier.”

Secretary Brown, who was representing Governor of Oregon Ted Kulongoski, said “We as a Pacific community can leverage our buying, consuming and producing power to increase our impact as a player in international trade.” Oregon will be hosting the next forum to be held later this year.

Schwarzenegger says that a cap-and-trade system makes much more sense than a carbon tax, especially in a state like California, where it takes two-thirds of the vote to get a tax increase. He said that if mistakes are made with the system in the beginning, like they were in Europe, then they will make changes.

It’s surprising Premier Campbell even had time to sit down and talk about the environment between all of the appearances he’s been making in the days leading up to the opening ceremonies, but he said it’s a critical issue. “The reason we have a Pacific Coast Collaborative is because there’s no time to waste. And if we have to lead North America from the west, I think we should get used to that.”

California is proof that the economy and the environment are positively correlated. Schwarzenegger said they have created ten times as many jobs in the green sector than any other.

“We’re going in the right direction,” he said. “Even though there have been attempts to derail some of the regulation, it won’t happen, not over my dead body.”

Source | Alternate Coverage | See Also under SPP: A New Generation of ‘North American’ Citizens | A North American Security Perimeter Coming Into View | Canada warms to idea of a tougher ‘perimeter’ | Jim Prentice: Implement A ‘North American Climate Change Regime’ | Canada commits to continental wilderness deal | Passing on the Mantle of Deep North American Integration | The time has come for North American monetary union | Montebello police provocateurs called before ethics panel | Harper’s Washington itinerary includes Obama photo-op, private meeting with CFR | Think Tank Report: Obama Will “Press The Reset Button” On North American Union Agenda | Harper to meet Obama, Calderon in August | Obama should rename the SPP, set up two speeds on integration with Canada and Mexico, says new report | How to fix the mess at the Canada-U.S. border | Happy North America Day? | John Manley to ‘bridge divide’ between business and government as new CCCE chief | RCMP and US Coast Guard to integrate as Canada signs border pact with Homeland Security | After Three Amigos rendezvous, White House confirms there’s no plan to reopen NAFTA | Harper promotes NAFTA superhighway corridor hub in Manitoba | Get close to Obama on economy and security, paper says | Press for Truth confronts Paul Martin on Bilderberg and the SPP | Homeland Security Assuming Broad Powers, Turning Swaths of U.S. into “Constitution-Free Zone” | CD Howe Institute backs Canada-EU deal, deep integration | Architect of North American integration urges reboot | Canada’s made in America energy policy | Canadian ambassador to address fourth annual North American Forum in Washington | “North American Parliament” Meets At Integration Forum | New bridge slated for Windsor-Detroit corridor: sources | Student Mock Parliament to be held in Montreal Parallels Integrationist Aims of SPP | South American union is created | Business group sets and gets its agenda | Continental Business Lobby Releases List of Priorities for Government to Address at SPP Talks| North American ID card in the works through SPP | CBC-TV’s mini-series Trojan Horse is a very clever warning to Canadians about the North American Union agenda | New Documents Reveal North American Union PR Campaign | Canada, U.S. agree to use each other’s troops in civil emergencies | Consider a continental currency: Jarislowsky | Vicente Fox Admits Plan For Single NAFTA Currency | Military To Crackdown On North American Union Protesters | North American Union plan headed to Congress in fall | Fraser Institute: The Case for the Amero

This entry was posted on Friday, February 12th, 2010 at 10:04 am and is filed under economics, environment, sovereignty. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.