U.S.
Congress demands transparency in SPP New American Union agenda
Edited
by John Stokes
OTTAWA
– NDP Trade Critic Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster) was encouraged
to see the U.S. Congress shares the NDP’s concerns about the lack of transparency
and democratic oversight surrounding the implementation of the Security and Prosperity
Partnership of North America (SPP).
A
vote on an amendment tabled by Congresswoman Marcy Kaptur, which was passed overwhelmingly
on Tuesday, prohibits the use of federal funds by the U.S. Department of Transportation
in participating in the SPP working groups until the U.S. Congress has an opportunity
to review and assess the agenda of the SPP.
“What
the U.S. House of Representatives clearly raised are issues of transparency, reduction
of safety standards and concerns about the lack of democratic oversight of the
SPP process,” said Julian. “The amendment tabled by Congresswoman Kaptur
and Congressman Hunter indicates that the NDP’s concerns about the SPP’s
secret agenda are echoed by legislators in the U.S. We need the same level of
scrutiny on this side of the border. Unfortunately, Mr. Harper seems intent on
keeping Canadians in the dark.”
Julian
has been working closely with Kaptur to ensure concerns over the secrecy of the
SPP on both sides of the border are front and centre in both countries’ political
circles. The SPP was initiated by the Liberal government of Paul Martin in 2005,
and has been continued by the Conservative government of Stephen Harper.
“What
we’ve seen here is the clear repudiation of the SPP agenda from the U.S.
Congress. We’ve seen similar concerns raised in Mexico. The NDP has been
leading the fight in Canada to ensure that the SPP is put through real public
consultations, democratic debate, and parliamentary oversight. The fact that democratic
oversight, transparency and the issue of erosion of standards were all raised
in the vote in the U.S. clearly indicates that concerns are broadening and deepening,”
stated Julian.
Julian
has tabled a motion at the Parliamentary Standing Committee on International Trade
to be considered this fall, calling on Parliament to stop further implementation
of the SPP agenda until there are real public consultations and full Parliamentary
oversight. The NDP succeeded in forcing the first ever hearings on the SPP this
spring at the Trade Committee.
Along
with Congresswoman Kaptur and Deputy Suarez of the Mexican Party of the Democratic
Revolution, Peter Julian co-sponsored the second Tri-National Forum on a people-centered
approach to trade which took place in June 2006 in Ottawa. It was organized by
the NDP along with civil society groups to call for a halt to the SPP and to craft
a collective plan to bring an end to deep integration and replace NAFTA with a
people-centered trade model.
