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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday May 23, 2007 - 7 Security and prosperity partnership: for whom? By Bonnie Brown OAKVILLE MP You may have heard recently that Canada is planning to increase the allowable levels of pesticide residue on our fruits and vegetables. What is the logic behind accepting increased consumption of toxins? It turns out that much of these foods are imported and big business considers regulatory differences between Canada and the less restrictive American regime to be a "trade irritant." In other words, your health and mine must be jeopardized because our current health standards are impinging upon the profits of transnational agribusiness corporations. We've been assured by the Minister of Health that Canada's new limits will be based on science and therefore ensure the safety of Canadians. However, one is left wondering what our current limits are based on if not science? The Minister also assures us that Canada has and will maintain the highest standards of safety for pesticides and other toxins. However, Canada's current standards only seem appropriate when compared to the United States where 40 per cent of regulated pesticides limits are higher than ours. America's standards are set by the Environmental Protection Agency, an agency that was reorganized by the Bush administration and has since been condemned by scientists within the U.S. for its cozy relationship with industry. A quick glance at Europe reveals a different view of Canada's standards. Our current limit on permethrin is 400 times higher than in Europe and the Canadian cap on methoxychlor is 1,400 times higher. Canada's current pesticide limits are "middle of the pack" at best and are about to be compromised further. All this is due to an industry initiative called "Smart Regulation" in which Mexican and Canadian regulatory regimes are being "harmonized" with those of the United States. What is rarely mentioned is that this effort is being organized through the Security and Prosperity Partnership, or SPP. This international agreement was initiated in 2005 by the governments of Canada, the United States and Mexico. It was the brain child of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives who want "deep integration" of the Canadian and American economies, military and culture. This would include uniform regulatory regimes for a wide array of products and services including food, drugs and environmental protections. It would include increased interoperability between the Canadian and U.S. military. It would include a continental energy pact whereby Canada would guarantee America's access to our energy resources and force Canadians to compete with Americans for our own electricity as we currently do with our oil and gas. It would include a North American security perimeter that could erode the civil liberties of our citizens. It would include common immigration and environmental policies and a host of other policies that together would dra- Editor's note: The following guest column by Oakville MP Bonnie Brown failed to continue to another page in the May 19 Weekend edition of The Oakville Beaver. The column is reprinted here in its entirety. The Oakville Beaver apologizes for any inconvenience it may have caused. matically undermine the sovereignty and autonomy of Canada and its citizens. The SPP's participants are well aware that this agenda lacks broad public support and have therefore committed themselves to what they call "integration by stealth". The SPP is not a signed treaty and has never been brought before the legislatures of the 3 nations for discussion or committee oversight. Its implementation is being coordinated not by parliaments, not by a broad spectrum of social groups but by the North American Competitiveness Council, an SPP working group of 30 corporate CEOs, 10 from each of Mexico, Canada and the U.S. This group meets regularly, behind closed doors, with senior government officials and Ministers. One of its key objectives is business deregulation yet no other stakeholders have been given a seat at the table and meeting minutes are not made public. Even more disturbing is that 20 per cent of Canada's representatives on this council are actually American businessmen. The entire Security and Prosperity Partnership is so profoundly undemocratic that to date, 14 U.S. states have passed resolutions demanding that the U.S. congress act to cease America's involvement. The impending changes to Canada's pesticide residue levels are just one small element in an ongoing effort to Americanize Canada in the interests of powerful businesses. 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