You have to love how well politicians lie, to make a sellout seem a good thing. Then there is the Politician that tells you how great it is to share such an open border, and how good of a friend you are, while at the same time killing tourism in your country, and putting the blame for their own incompetence onto your shoulders.

Hats off to both Conservative Cannon, our Foreign Affairs dufus, and Hilary Rodham Clinton, the US poster model for failed political hacks, for their stellar performance in announcing that the Great Lakes Water Treaty of 1909 will be renegotiated, as merely a way to update how we preserve the environment. 

“We have to update it to reflect new knowledge, new technologies and, unfortunately, new threats,” Clinton said.

“The rivers, the lakes, the streams, the watersheds along our boundary do not belong to one nation, they belong to all of us,” she said at celebrations overlooking the falls.

“The friendship between Canada and the United States is a model for the world,” said Cannon. ( CBC News )

Funny how Clinton makes that sly remark, about it not belonging to anyone, course the fact that it is her country who pollutes the lakes faster than one can say ‘defeated candidate’, and is the one who thinks we are a third world country,  doesn’t come into play, now does it?

After all it is her Government that is trying to steal the Northern Waters of Canada so they can legally send their warships through the passages, and their oil tankers, without meeting our tougher restrictions on pollution. Mind you, our lovely fair haired boy, Stevie, is doing everything he can, to reduce those restrictions, those protective services. After all, he’d like nothing better than to be the Governor of the 51st USA State.

And you have to love how they talk about free exchange of goods, through NAFTA and the cross border shopping, while it it is the USA who constantly tries to deny Canadian Industry a role in the US Market. Or how their new regulations, requiring anyone over 16 to have a passport in order to enter their land of plenty.

And our eager and willing stupe, Cannon, plays right into it, extolling the virtues of a country that has led the world to economic ruin, because of its greed. Course it is his same boss, that is allowing Mining Companies to dump toxic waste into our streams, so they can make huge profits. And too, in all fairness, so that Canada will be just like the United States, a dumping ground for polluters. After all, wouldn’t be fair to have pristeen lakes, clear and clean water, when our gentle giant of a neighbour has nothing but sludge and ooze in its lakes & rivers, from the same practice of dumping and pollution.

Now would it?

Closing most of its Lake Erie operation, as well as its Hamilton Mill, U.S. Steel Canada ( formerly Stelco ) will effectively cut about 1500 jobs. Now, other steel firms, are doing the same, blaming the slowdown in the world economy, and the lower demand for steel.

The company says it will concentrate on shifting its operations to its other plants, located in, wait for it, the United States.  Now, on the surface that is what one would expect. I mean if the company was Canadian Owned, and had plants in the US, I would expect the foreign plants to be closed first, before local plants, but the thing is, we don’t own it, anymore.

So here is the sixty four dollar question, for all those who think the Harper Conservatives were right in allowing Stelco to be sold, who think his policies of selling off our assets, is okay.

How many of the jobs lost in this announcement would there have been, if we still owned Stelco?

I don’t blame US Steel for its decision. I blame the short sighted vision of the Harper Government, who allowed the company to be bought out. And let us not forget, that shortly after buying it, THEY POSTED A PROFIT!

Now suddenly they are in such dire straights, they need to close the Hamilton Plant, and most of Lake Erie. A plant, by the way, that has never before, been effected in such a way.  Now suddenly, because it is a US Owned company, it is being shut down, and it is Canadian Employees who are being laid off. It is the Canadian Taxpayer, who will pick up the tab for the increased EI costs, and other associated expenses, such a decision creates.

This is HARPERNOMICS.

Harper, Bush, and Calderon are meeting on Monday, to discuss the Security Prosperity Partnership (SPP) plan, that was once known as the North American Union plan. That name got changed because it was too close to the what this plan actually is, which is to create a union of the three North American Nations, and you can bet it won’t be controlled by Ottawa or Mexico City either.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper will meet with Mexican President Felipe Calderon and U.S. President George W. Bush for the third annual Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) summit, starting Monday. (CBC report)

Catchy name too, don’t you think? Kind of makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, until you realize that is the dismantling of Canada, Mexico as we know it today. The goal is to allow the free flow of products, and people. It means that all Three Nations will have a common trade platform, product standards.

It means that if Canada needs some nice cheap labour, it’ll let in all the Mexicans that can hitch a ride on sub standard trucks and make their way up here. It means that we don’t need border guards anymore, because really, the SPP eliminates the need to keep an eye on who and what comes across our national boundaries. Course there won’t be any national borders anymore so it doesn’t matter.

What Security?

Without borders, without proper monitoring of the borders from the south, what kind of security can we expect? Seriously, look to the US-Mexico border right now and see what is in store for Canada if Stephen Harper gets his way. It means that unlimited imports from the USA and Mexico will come trapezing across the 49th Parallel, and we can forget about singing O’Canada at sporting events. It’ll be some version of the Star Spangled Banner.

This isn’t about sharing security information, though those programs exist. Only trouble is, the United States doesn’t like to share, they just like to take. Look at the whole incident with Arar, and how the USA lied and has yet to appologize to Arar or Canada for their actions. That isn’t security, that is simply ignorance.

Prosperity for Whom?

The second part of this accord, is to improve the prosperity of all involved nations. However, let’s face facts, what it is about is allowing the flow of goods from Multi National Corporations without duty, without being subject to different standards or quality control. Just look at the crap recently with Mattel. (see comment ‘What Standards?‘)

The leaders are expected to end the summit with a call for a new cross-border protocol that will outline who and what would be allowed to move across North American borders during crises, the Canadian Press reported. They are also expected to announce that they will recognize the research of each country’s food and drug regime in an effort to reduce costs and avoid duplication, CP reported (CBC News Report)

Considering that the US Food & Drug Administration has closed 7 out of 13 labs that check for food contaminants, and that they have cut their import inspections down to less than 1% of all imported foods, how safe will you feel when Harper cuts our agency down as well? When we will accept US results or claims that stuff is safe, when the fact is, the United States is NOT CHECKING ANYTHING!

With the United States importing hundreds of billions of dollars of goods from China, why should we accept anything coming up from the United States? China has no real safety standard, and the only protection is our own set of standards, being enforced by our own agencies. With the SPP, that goes out the window.

This is about saving money, at the expense of Public Safety. That is the Harper Plan, one begun by George Bush 7 years ago. Now Stephen Harper plans to replicate that raping of public safety, in Canada, with the SPP. This is an outright assault on our Independence.

Just as the United States economy is suffering from having CHEAP LABOR, thanks to the Illegal Immigration Problem, Stephen Harper now wants to add that mess to Canada. Oh, and where do we need more labor? Why in Alberta in the Oil Industry, of course. Thanks, but that is simply an excuse from the Oil Industry to import cheap labor, at the expense of Canadian Workers. No different than what Bush has managed for the Construction Industry, Agriculture Industry, and Tech Industry in the United States.

The ‘Prosperity’ aspect of this plan is for Big Business. While you and I, while Unions and Environmentalists are barred from attending these meetings, it is Big Business, the Corporate Elite of the Nations that are attending, that are making the proposals, for which Stephen Harper is willing to accept. This is his meaning of “Transparent Government” that he harped on during the election. Yet when it comes down to it, he is about Transparent as a Sheet of Lead.

This SPP will not benefit you and me. It will increase the tainted foods in our system, will keep wages and earnings low thanks to mass migration of cheap labor from Mexico. It does not mean better schools, or better health care, because no one will be able to afford the tax bill. Corporations who will benefit, won’t be paying any extra, but less actually, and our borders will be nothing more than a colored line on a map.

While Corporate Interests will get tax breaks, tariff breaks, the middle class will get lower wages, higher priced goods, and higher taxes. Standards (like they are low enough as it is) will be based on the lowest common denominator, and it will not matter what we want. We’ll get electronic voting machines so that the Corporate Elite can rig the elections their way, and as for keeping our system of government, forget it. After all, we will need to be competitive with the world, so why would we need our own government? Mexico won’t need one either, and the Greatest Democracy Ever will now rule the largest land mass.

And why?

You might wonder why Bush is so pushy on this SPP, and the answer is simple.

OUR RESOURCES.

With a rich north, you can bet your sweet ass that the Oil Industry that bought and paid for George W. Bush and Stephen Harper are licking their chops at the prospect of owning all of the Natural Wealth of Canada. Just look at how neatly the Oil Industry suddenly needs more workers in Alberta, and they plan to bring them in from Mexico.

This is exactly what the Americans did for their Agricultural Industry, and now sit with in excess of 12 million ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS. Now Stephen Harper wants to do the same for his buddies in the Alberta Oil Industry, just as Bush went to war for his.

Can we say Iraq?

The SPP secures nothing for you and me, but it does secure Corporate Profits. Our country will be no safer than it was prior to 9/11, just as the United States is no more secure.

The SPP provides no prosperity for you and me, but it does insure INCREASED CORPORATE PROFITS. It will keep wages low, increase foreign workers, cost increased taxes to maintain our schools, health care but not at the expense of Corporate Profits, just what you and I will pay.

The SPP is not a partnership between peoples of three nations, but is about huge Multi National Interests having control over Trade, Labor, and Imports.

Not my idea of being Secure, Prosperous, or having a Partner.