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Citizen Discontent Across the Continent..
Apparently MANY CANADIANS DO NOT WANT A
NORTH AMERICAN UNION EITHER & HAVE IDENTIFIED MANY OF THE SAME ISSUES.
This is a citizens group with an impressive website & agenda. This is
just one of the pieces on their website.
Timeline of the Progress Toward a North
American Union
Canadian, U.S., and Mexican elites,
including CEOS and politicians, have a plan to create common North
American policies and further integrate our economies. This plan goes by
various names and euphemisms, such as "deep integration", "NAFTA-plus",
"harmonization", the "Big Idea", the "Grand Bargain", and the "North
American Security and Prosperity Initiative". Regardless of which name
your prefer, the end goal of all of these plans is to create a new
political and economic entity that would supercede the existing
countries. Advocates refer to it as a "North American Community", but it
is also known as the North American Union (NAU). Theoretically, it would
be similar to and competetive with the European Union (EU). The
individual currencies of each country would be replaced by a common
currency called the "Amero" and everything from environmental
regulations to security would be brought in line with a common standard.
Vive le Canada.ca offers the following
timeline as a resource to educate the general public about the progress
of the three countries toward a new North American Union (NAU).
Vive le Canada.ca opposes the creation of
the North American Union (NAU) because we believe it will mean the loss
of Canadian sovereignty and democracy and hand over more power to giant,
unelected corporations. We also believe that unlike the EU, the
countries joining the NAU are not roughly equal in size and power and
that this means the U.S. will most certainly be setting policy for all
three countries. Considering the unpopularity of the Bush administration
and its policies in the U.S., Canada, and around the world we believe
that erasing the borders between our countries and adopting U.S.
policies at this time is a bad idea and will create economic, political
and military insecurity in this country. We hope that raising awareness
about the plan to create a North American Union (NAU) will create
opposition and encourage debate in all three countries, but especially
in Canada.
Note: This timeline is a work in progress
and will be updated as events progress. If you notice a correction that
needs to be made or an event that should be included, please email
susan.thompson@vivelecanada.ca
Timeline
- 1921: The Council on Foreign
Relations is founded by Edward Mandell House, who had been the chief
advisor of President Woodrow Wilson.
- 1973: David Rockefeller asks
Zbigniew Brzezinski and a few others, including from the Brookings
Institution, Council on Foreign Relations and the Ford Foundation,
to put together an organization of the top political, and business
leaders from around the world. He calls this group the Trilateral
Commission (TC). The first meeting of the group is held in Tokyo in
October. See:
Trilateral Commission
FAQ
- 1974: Richard Gardner, one of
the members of the Trilateral Commission, publishes an article
titled "The Hard Road to World Order" which appeared in Foreign
Affairs magazine, published by the Council on Foreign Relations
(CFR). In the article he wrote: "In short, the 'house of world
order' would have to be built from the bottom up rather than from
the top down. It will look like a great 'booming, buzzing
confusion,' to use William James' famous description of reality, but
an end run around national sovereignty, eroding it piece by piece,
will accomplish much more than the old-fashioned frontal assault."
Gardner advocated treaties and trade agreements as a means of
creating a new economic world order. See:
The Hard Road to
World Order
- November 13, 1979: While
officially declaring his candidacy for U.S. President, Ronald Reagan
proposes a “North American Agreement” which will produce “a North
American continent in which the goods and people of the three
countries will cross boundaries more freely.”
- January 1981: U.S. President
Ronald Reagan proposes a North American common market.
- September 4, 1984:
Conservative Brian Mulroney is elected Prime Minister of Canada
after opposing free trade during the campaign.
- September 25, 1984: Canadian
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney meets President Reagan in Washington
and promises closer relations with the US.
- October 9, 1984: The US
Congress adopts the Trade and Tariff Act, an omnibus trade act that
notably extends the powers of the president to concede trade
benefits and enter into bilateral free trade agreements. The Act
would be passed on October 30, 1984.
- 1985: A Canadian Royal
Commission on the economy chaired by former Liberal Minister of
Finance Donald S. Macdonald issues a report to the Government of
Canada recommending free trade with the United States.
- St. Patrick's Day, 1985:
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney and President Ronald Reagan sing "When
Irish Eyes Are Smiling" together to cap off the "Shamrock Summit", a
24-hour meeting in Quebec City that opened the door to future free
trade talks between the countries. Commentator Eric Kierans observed
that "The general impression you get, is that our prime minister
invited his boss home for dinner." Canadian historian Jack
Granatstein said that this "public display of sucking up to Reagan
may have been the single most demeaning moment in the entire
political history of Canada's relations with the United States."
- September 26, 1985: Canadian
Prime Minister Brian Mulroney announces that Canada will try to
reach a free trade agreement with the US.
- December 10, 1985: U.S.
President Reagan officially informs Congress about his intention to
negotiate a free trade agreement with Canada under the authority of
trade promotion. Referred to as fast track, trade promotion
authority is an accelerated legislative procedure which obliges the
House of Representatives and the Senate to decide within 90 days
whether or not to establish a trade trade unit. No amendments are
permitted.
- May 1986: Canadian and
American negotiators begin to work out a free trade deal. The
Canadian team is led by former deputy Minister of Finance Simon
Reisman and the American side by Peter O. Murphy, the former deputy
United States trade representative in Geneva.
- October 3, 1987: The
20-chapter Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA or FTA)
is finalized. U.S. trade representative Clayton Yeutter offers this
observation: "We've signed a stunning new trade pact with Canada.
The Canadians don't understand what they've signed. In twenty years,
they will be sucked into the U.S. economy."
- November 6, 1987: Signing of
a framework agreement between the US and Mexico.
- January 2, 1988: Prime
Minister Mulroney and President Reagan officially sign the FTA.
- January 1, 1989: The Canada
US Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA or FTA) goes into effect.
- June 10, 1990: Presidents
Bush (U.S.) and Salinas (Mexico) announce that they will begin
discussions aimed at liberalizing trade between their countries.
- August 21, 1990: Mexican
President Salinas officially proposes to the US president the
negotiation of a free trade agreement between Mexico and the US.
- February 5, 1991:
Negotiations between the US and Mexico aimed at liberalizing trade
between the two countries officially become trilateral at the
request of the Canadian government under Brian Mulroney.
- April 7 to 10, 1991:
Cooperation agreements are signed between Mexico and Canada covering
taxation, cultural production and exports.
- May 24, 1991: The American
Senate endorses the extension of fast track authority in order to
facilitate the negotiation of free trade with Mexico.
- June 12, 1991: Start of trade
negotiations between Canada, the US and Mexico.
- April 4, 1992 Signing in
Mexico by Canada and Mexico of a protocol agreement on cooperation
projects regarding labour.
- August 12, 1992: Signing of
an agreement in principle on NAFTA.
- September 17, 1992: Creation
of a trilateral commission responsible for examining cooperation in
the area of the environment.
- October 7, 1992: Official
signing of NAFTA by Michael Wilson of Canada (minister), American
ambassador Carla Hills and Mexican secretary Jaime Serra Puche, in
San Antonio (Texas).
- December 17, 1992: Official
signing of NAFTA by Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, US
president George Bush, and Mexican president Carlos Salinas de
Gortari, subject to its final approval by the federal Parliaments of
the three countries.
- March 17 and 18, 1993: Start
of tripartite discussions in Washington aimed at reaching subsidiary
agreements covering labor and the environment.
- September 14, 1993: Official
signing of parallel agreements covering labor and the environment in
the capitals of the three countries.
- 1993: The Liberal Party under
Jean Chretien promises to renegotiate NAFTA in its campaign
platform, titled "Creating Opportunity: the Liberal Plan for Canada"
and also known as The Red Book.
- December 1993: Newly elected
Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien signs NAFTA without changes,
breaking his promise to renegotiate NAFTA. U.S. President Bill
Clinton signs NAFTA for the U.S.
- November 1993: The North
American Development Bank (NADB) and its sister institution, the
Border Environment Cooperation Commission (BECC), are created under
the auspices of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) to
address environmental issues in the U.S.-Mexico border region. The
two institutions initiate operations under the November 1993
Agreement Between the Government of the United States of America and
the Government of the United Mexican States Concerning the
Establishment of a Border Environment Cooperation Commission and a
North American Development Bank (the “Charter”). See:
About Us
(The North American Development Bank)
- January 1, 1994: NAFTA and
the two agreements on labour and the environment go into effect,
replacing CUSFTA.
- November 16, 1994: Canada and
Mexico sign a cooperation agreement regarding the peaceful use of
nuclear energy.
- December 1994: The Summit of
the Americas is held in Miami. The three signatories of NAFTA
officially invite Chile to become a contractual party of the
agreement. The Free Trade Area of the Americas or FTAA is initiated.
According to the offical FTAA website, "the Heads of State and
Government of the 34 democracies in the region agreed to construct a
Free Trade Area of the Americas, or FTAA, in which barriers to trade
and investment will be progressively eliminated. They agreed to
complete negotiations towards this agreement by the year 2005 and to
achieve substantial progress toward building the FTAA by 2000." See:
FTAA
- December 22, 1994: Mexican
monetary authorities decide to let the Peso float. The US and Canada
open a US$6 billion line of credit for Mexico.
- January 3, 1995: Mexican
president Ernesto Zedillo presents an emergency plan.
- January 1995: President
Clinton announces an aid plan for Mexico.
- February 9, 1995: Mickey
Kantor, the US Foreign Trade representative, announces Washington’s
intention to include the provisions of NAFTA regarding labor and the
environment in negotiations with Chile.
- February 21, 1995: Signing in
Washington of an agreement regarding the financial assistance given
to Mexico. Mexico in turn promises to pay Mexican oil export revenue
as a guarantee into an account at the Federal Reserve in New York.
- February 28, 1995: Mexico
announces the increase of its customs duties on a number of imports
from countries with which it does not have a free trade agreement.
- March 9, 1995: President
Zedillo presents austerity measures. The plan envisages a 50%
increase in value added taxes, a 10% reduction of government
expenditure, a 35% increase in gas prices, a 20% increase in
electricity prices and a 100% increase in transportation prices. The
minimum wage is increased by 10%. The private sector can benefit
from government assistance. The inter-bank rate that is reduced to
74% will be increased to 109% on March 15.
- March 29, 1995: Statistical
data on US foreign trade confirms the sharp increase in Mexican
exports to the US.
- April 10, 1995: The US dollar
reaches its lowest level in history on the international market. It
depreciated by 50% relative to the Japanese yen in only four years.
- June 7, 1995: First meeting
of the ministers of Foreign Trade of Canada (Roy MacLaren), the US
(Mickey Kantor), Mexico (Herminio Blanco) and Chile (Eduardo Aninat)
to start negotiations.
- December 29, 1995: Chile and
Canada commit to negotiate a bilateral free trade agreement.
- June 3, 1996: Chile and
Canada start negotiating the reciprocal opening of markets in
Santiago.
- November 18, 1996: Signing in
Ottawa of the Canada-Chile free trade agreement by Jean Chrétien,
Prime Minister of Canada and Eduardo Frei, President of Chile. The
agreement frees 80% of trade between the two countries. It is the
first free trade agreement signed between Chile and a member of the
G 7.
- July 4, 1997: The
Canada-Chile free trade agreement comes into effect.
- 1997: The US presidency
proposes applying NAFTA parity to Caribbean countries.
- April 17, 1998: Signing in
Santiago, Chile of the free trade agreement between Chile and Mexico
by President Ernesto Zedillo Ponce de León of Mexico, and President
Eduardo Frei of Chile.
- August 1, 1999: The
Chile-Mexico free trade agreement comes into effect.
- September, 1999: The Canadian
right-wing think tank the Fraser Institute publishes a paper by
Herbert G. Grubel titled "The Case for the Amero: The Economics and
Politics of a North American Monetary Union." In the paper Grubel
argues that a common currency is not inevitable but it is desirable.
See:
The Case for the
Amero
- July 2, 2000: Vicente Fox
Quesada of the National Action Party (PAN), is elected president of
Mexico, thus ending the reign of the Revolutionary Institutional
Party (RIP) that had held power for 71 years. Mr. Fox is sworn in on
1 December 2000.
- July 4, 2000: Mexican
president Vicente Fox proposes a 20 to 30 year timeline for the
creation of a common North American market. President Fox’s “20/20
vision” as it is commonly called, includes the following: a customs
union, a common external tariff, greater coordination of policies,
common monetary policies, free flow of labor, and fiscal transfers
for the development of poor Mexican regions. With the model of the
European Fund in mind, President Fox suggests that US$10 to 30
billion be invested in NAFTA to support underdeveloped regions. The
fund could be administered by an international financial institution
such as the Inter-American Development Bank.
- November 27, 2000: Trade
negotiations resume between the US and Chile for Chile’s possible
entry into NAFTA.
- 2001: Robert Pastor's 2001
book "Toward a North American Community" is published. The book
calls for the creation of a North American Union (NAU).
- April 2001: Canadian Prime
Minister Jean Chretien and US President George W. Bush sign the
Declaration of Quebec City at the third Summit of the Americas:
“This is a ‘commitment to hemispheric integration." See:
Declaration of
Quebec City
- August 30, 2001: The
Institute for International Economics issues a press release
advocating that the United States and Mexico should use the occasion
of the visit of President Vicente Fox of Mexico on September 4-7 to
develop a North American Community as advocated by Robert Pastor in
his book "Toward a North American Community." See:
A Blueprint for
a North American Community
- September 11, 2001: A series
of coordinated suicide terrorist attacks upon the United States,
predominantly targeting civilians, are carried out on Tuesday,
September 11, 2001. Two planes (United Airlines Flight 175 and
American Airlines Flight 11) crashed into the World Trade Center in
New York City, one plane into each tower (One and Two). Both towers
collapsed within two hours. The pilot of the third team crashed a
plane into the Pentagon in Arlington County, Virginia. Passengers
and members of the flight crew on the fourth aircraft attempted to
retake control of their plane from the hijackers; that plane crashed
into a field near the town of Shanksville in rural Somerset County,
Pennsylvania. Excluding the 19 hijackers, a confirmed 2,973 people
died and another 24 remain listed as missing as a result of these
attacks. In response, the Bush administration launches the "war on
terror" and becomes very concerned with security.
- December 2001: New U.S.
Ambassador to Canada Paul Cellucci publicly advocates "NAFTA-plus".
See:
The Emergence of
a North American Community?
- December 2001: U.S. Governor
Tom Ridge and Canadian Deputy Prime Minister John Manley sign the
Smart Border Declaration and Associated 30-Point Action Plan to
Enhance the Security of Our Shared Border While Facilitating the
Legitimate Flow of People and Goods. The Action Plan has four
pillars: the secure flow of people, the secure flow of goods, secure
infrastructure, and information. It includes shared customs data, a
safe third-country agreement, harmonized commercial processing, etc.
- February 7, 2002: Robert
Pastor gives invited testimony before the Standing Committee on
Foreign Affairs and International Trade, House of Commons,
Government of Canada, Ottawa. See:
INVITED
TESTIMONY OF DR. ROBERT A. PASTOR
- April 2002: The Canadian
right-wing think tank the C.D. Howe Institute publishes the first
paper in the "Border Papers" series, which they have described as "a
project on Canada's choices regarding North American integration."
The Border Papers were published with the financial backing of the
Donner Canadian Foundation. Generally the border papers advocate
deep integration between Canada and the U.S., and the first border
paper "Shaping the Future of the North American Economic Space: A
Framework for Action" by Wendy Dobson popularized the term "the Big
Idea" as one euphemism for deep integration. To read the border
papers, you can visit the C.D. Howe Institute website at
www.cdhowe.org.
Use the publication search form (1996 to current, PDF) and choose
"border papers" from the "Serie contains" drop down menu.
- September 9, 2002: President
Bush and Prime Minister Chrétien meet to discuss progress on the
Smart Border Action Plan and ask that they be updated regularly on
the work being done to harmonize our common border.
- December 5, 2002: The text of
the Safe Third Country Agreement is signed by officials of Canada
and the United States as part of the Smart Border Action Plan. See
the final text here:
Final Text of
the Safe Third Country Agreement
Refugee support groups on both sides of the Canadian-U.S. border
criticize the new agreement dealing with refugees for stipulating
that refugees must seek asylum in whichever of the two countries
they reach first. Critics say that preventing individuals who first
set foot in the U.S. from making a claim in Canada will increase
cases of human smuggling, and that other refugees will be forced to
live without any kind of legal status in the U.S. See for example:
10 Reasons Why Safe
Third Country is a Bad Deal
- September 11, 2002: The
National Post publishes an article by Alan Gotlieb, the chairman of
the Donner Canadian Foundation and Canada's ambassador to the United
States from 1981 to 1989, titled "Why not a grand bargain with the
U.S.?" In the article, Gotlieb asks "Rather than eschewing further
integration with the United States, shouldn't we be building on
NAFTA to create new rules, new tribunals, new institutions to secure
our trade? Wouldn't this 'legal integration' be superior to ad hoc
responses and largely ineffective lobbying to prevent harm from
Congressional protectionist sorties? Wouldn't our economic security
be enhanced by establishing a single North American competitive
market without anti-dumping and countervail rules? Are there not
elements of a grand bargain to be struck, combining North American
economic, defence and security arrangements within a common
perimeter?" See:
Why not a grand
bargain with the U.S.?
- November 1-2, 2002: Robert
Pastor presents "A North American Community. A Modest Proposal To
the Trilateral Commission," to the North American Regional Meeting,
Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Pastor called for implementation of "a
series of political proposals which would have authority over the
sovereignty of the United States, Canada and Mexico. ... the
creation of North American passports and a North American Customs
and Immigrations, which would have authority over U.S. Immigration
and Customs Enforcement (ICE) within the Department of Homeland
Security. A North American Parliamentary Group would oversee the
U.S. Congress. A Permanent Court on Trade and Investment would
resolve disputes within NAFTA, exerting final authority over the
judgments of the U.S. Supreme Court. A North American Commission
would 'develop an integrated continental plan for transportation and
infrastructure.'" See:
A North American
Community. A Modest Proposal To the Trilateral Commission
- December 6, 2002: The White
House issues an update on the progress of the Smart Border Action
Plan. See:
U.S. Canada
Smart Border 30 Point Action Plan Update
- December, 2002: US Secretary
Colin Powell signs an agreement between the United States and Canada
to establish a new bi-national planning group at the North American
Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) headquarters in Colorado Springs.
The new bi-national planning group is expected to release a report
recommending how the militaries of U.S. and Canada can "work
together more effectively to counter land-based and maritime
threats." See:
U.S. and Canada Sign
Bi-National Agreement on Military Planning
- January 2003: The Canadian
Council of Chief Executives headed by Tom D'Aquino (also a member of
the trinational Task Force on the Future of North America) launches
the North American Security and Prosperity Initiative (NASPI) in
January 2003 in response to an alleged "need for a comprehensive
North American strategy integrating economic and security issues".
NASPI has five main elements, which include: Reinventing borders,
Maximizing regulatory efficiencies, Negotiation of a comprehensive
resource security pact, Reinvigorating the North American defence
alliance, and Creating a new institutional framework. See:
North American
Security and Prosperity Initiative
(PDF).
- October 21, 2003: Dr. Robert
Pastor gives testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives,
International Relations Committee, Subcommittee on Western
Hemisphere Affairs on "U.S. Policy toward the Western
Hemisphere:Challenges and Opportunities" in which he recommends the
formation of a "North American Community."
- January 2004: NAFTA
celebrates its tenth anniversary with controversy, as it is both
praised and criticized.
- January/February 2004: The
Council on Foreign Relations publishes Robert Pastor's paper "North
America's Second Decade," which advocates further North American
integration. Read it at:
North America's
Second Decade
- April 2004: The Canadian
Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) publishes a major discussion
paper titled "New Frontiers: Building a 21st Century Canada-United
States Partnership in North America." Some of the paper’s 15
recommendations expand on the NASPI framework in areas such as
tariff harmonization, rules of origin, trade remedies, energy
strategy, core defence priorities and the need to strengthen
Canada-United States institutions, including the North American
Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD). Other recommendations focus on
the process for developing and executing a comprehensive strategy,
including the need for greater coordination across government
departments, between federal and provincial governments and between
the public and private sectors. See:
Building a 21st
Century Canada-United States Partnership in North America
- October 2004: The
Canada-Mexico Partnership (CMP) is launched during the visit of
President Vicente Fox to Ottawa. See:
Canada-Mexico
Partnership (CMP)
- November 1, 2004: The
Independent Task Force on the Future of North America is formed. The
task force is a trilateral task force charged with developing a
"roadmap" to promote North American security and advance the
well-being of citizens of all three countries. The task force is
chaired by former Liberal Deputy Prime Minister John Manley. It is
sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in association
with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) and the Consejo
Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales.
- December 29, 2004: The Safe
Third Country Agreement comes into force. See:
Safe Third
Country Agreement Comes Into Force Today
- March 2005: The Independent
Task Force on the Future of North America releases "Creating a North
American Community - Chairmen’s Statement." Three former
high-ranking government officials from Canada, Mexico, and the
United States call for a North American economic and security
community by 2010 to address shared security threats, challenges to
competitiveness, and interest in broad-based development across the
three countries. See:
Creating a North
American Community Chairmen’s Statement
- March 14, 2005: Robert
Pastor, author of "Toward a North American Community" and member of
the task force on the future of North America, publishes an article
titled "The Paramount Challenge for North America: Closing the
Development Gap," sponsored by the North American Development Bank,
which recommends forming a North American Community as a way to
address economic inequalities due to NAFTA between Canada, the U.S.
and Mexico. See:
THE PARAMOUNT CHALLENGE
FOR NORTH AMERICA: CLOSING THE DEVELOPMENT GAP
(PDF)
- March 23, 2005: The leaders
of Canada, the United States and Mexico sign the Security and
Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America at the trilateral
summit in Waco, Texas. Canada is signed on by Prime Minister Paul
Martin. See:
www.spp.gov.
- March 24, 2005: The 40 Point
Smart Regulation Plan is launched as part of the SPP agreement. It
is a far-reaching plan to introduce huge changes to Canada's
regulatory system in order to eliminate some regulations and
harmonize other regulations with the U.S. Reg Alcock, President of
the Treasury Board and Minister responsible for the Canadian Wheat
Board, launches the Government of Canada's implementation plan for
Smart Regulation at a Newsmaker Breakfast at the National Press
Club. For the original plan and updates see:
Smart
Regulation: Report on Actions and Plans
- March 2005:
Agreement to build the Texas NAFTA Superhighway: “A ‘Comprehensive
Development Agreement’ [is] signed by the Texas Department of
Transportation (TxDOT) to build the ‘TTC-35 High Priority Corridor’
parallel to Interstate 35. The contracting party involved a limited
partnership formed between Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de
Transporte, S.A., a publically listed company headquartered in
Spain, owned by the Madrid-based Groupo Ferrovial, and a San
Antonio-based construction company, Zachry Construction Corp.” Texas
Segment of NAFTA Super Highway Nears Construction, Jerome R. Corsi,
June 2006, www.Humaneventsonline.com The proposed NAFTA superhighway
will be a 10 lane super highway four football fields wide that will
travel through the heart of the U.S. along Interstate 35, from the
Mexican border at Laredo, Tex., to the Canadian border north of
Duluth. Minn. The "Trans-Texas Corridor" or TTC will be the first
leg of the NAFTA superhighway.
- April 2005: U.S. Senate Bill
853 is introduced by Senator Richard G. Lugar (IN) and six
cosponsors. “The North American Security Cooperative Act (NASCA) is
touted as a bill to protect the American public from terrorists by
creating the North American Union. The North American Union consists
of three countries, U.S., Canada, and Mexico, with open borders,
something that is proposed to be in effect by 2010. Thus, it would
ensure the fulfillment of the Security and Prosperity Partnership of
North America.” NASCA Rips America, April 2005,
www.Freemarketnews.com
- May 2005: The Council on
Foreign Relations Press publishes the report of the Independent Task
Force on the Future of North America, titled "Building a North
American Community" (task force report 53). See:
Building a North
American Community
- June 2005: A follow-up SPP
meeting is held in Ottawa, Canada.
- June 2005: A U.S. Senate
Republican Policy Committee policy paper is released: “The CFR did
not mention the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA), but it
is obvious that it is part of the scheme. This was made clear by the
Senate Republican Policy Committee policy paper released in June
2005. It argued that Congress should pass CAFTA … The Senate
Republican policy paper argued that CAFTA ‘will promote democratic
governance.’But there is nothing democratic about CAFTA’s many pages
of grants of vague authority to foreign tribunals on which foreign
judges can force us to change our domestic laws to be ‘no more
burdensome than necessary’on foreign trade.” CFR's Plan to Integrate
the U.S., Mexico and Canada, July 2005, www.Eagleforum.org
- June 9, 2005: CNN's Lou
Dobbs, reporting on Dr. Robert Pastor's congressional testimony as
one of the six co-chairmen of the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR)
Independent Task Force on North America, began his evening broadcast
with this announcement: "Good evening, everybody. Tonight, an
astonishing proposal to expand our borders to incorporate Mexico and
Canada and simultaneously further diminish U.S. sovereignty. Have
our political elites gone mad?"
- July 2005: The Central
American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) passes in the U.S. House of
Representatives by a 217-215 vote.
- November 2005: Canadian
Action Party leader Connie Fogal publishes an article called
"Summary and Part 1:The Metamorphosis and Sabotage of Canada by Our
Own Government- The North American Union." See
Summary and Part
1:The Metamorphosis and Sabotage of Canada by Our Own Government The
North American Union
- January 2006:
Conservative Stephen Harper is elected Prime Minister of Canada with
a minority government.
- March 31, 2006: At the Summit
of the Americas in Cancun, Canada (under new Prime Minister Stephen
Harper) along with the U.S. and Mexico release the Leaders' Joint
Statement. The statement presents six action points to move toward a
North American Union, aka a North American Community. These action
points include: 1) Establishment of a Trilateral Regulatory
Cooperative Framework 2) Establishment of the North American
Competitiveness Council (NACC) 3) Provision for North American
Emergency Management 4) Provision for Avian and Human Pandemic
Influenza Management 5) Development of North American Energy
Security 6) Assure Smart, Secure North American Borders. Read the
full statement at:
Leaders' Joint
Statement
- April 2006: A draft
environmental impact statement on the proposed first leg of the
"NAFTA superhighway", the "Trans-Texas Corridor" or TTC, is
completed.
- June 2006: Tom Tancredo,
R-Colorado. demands superstate accounting from the Bush
administration: “Responding to a Worldnetdaily.com report, Tom
Tancredo is demanding the Bush administration fully disclose the
activities of an office implementing a trilateral agreement with
Mexico and Canada that apparently could lead to a North American
union, despite having no authorization from Congress.” Tancredo
Confronts 'Super-State' Effort, June 2006, www.Worldnetdaily.com
- June 15, 2006: U.S. Commerce
Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez convenes the first meeting of the
North American Competitiveness Council (NACC), the advisory group
organized by the Department of Commerce (DOC) under the auspices of
the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and announced by the
leaders of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico on March 31, 2006.
- July 2006: Public hearings on
the proposed "NAFTA superhighway" begin in the U.S.
- July 25, 2006: The article
"Meet Robert Pastor, Father of the North American Union" is
published. See:
Meet Robert Pastor:
Father of the North American Union
- August 21, 2006: An article
titled
North American Union
Threatens U.S. Sovereignty"
is posted to informationliberation.com.
- August 27, 2006: Patrick Wood
(U.S.) publishes an article titled "Toward a North American Union"
for The August Review. See:
Toward a North
American Union
- August 28, 2006: A North
American United Nations? by Republican Congressman Ron Paul (Texas)
is published. See:
A North American
United Nations?
- August 29, 2006: Patrick
Buchanan (U.S.) criticizes a North American union in his article
"The NAFTA super highway." See:
The NAFTA super
highway
- September 12-14, 2006: A
secret "North American Forum" on integration is held at the Fairmont
Banff Springs Hotel. Elite participants from Canada, the U.S. and
Mexico are present. It is ignored by the mainstream media. See the
Vive le Canada.ca article for the secret agenda and participant
list:
Deep Integration
Planned at Secret Conference Ignored by the Media
- September 13, 2006:
A Maclean's article on integration notes that according to Ron
Covais, the president of the Americas for defence giant Lockheed
Martin, a former Pentagon adviser to Dick Cheney, and one of the
architects of North American integration, the political will to make
deep integration of the continent happen will last only for "less
than two years". According to the article, to make sure that the
establishment of a North American Union will take place in that
time, "The executives have boiled their priorities down to three:
the Canadian CEOs are focusing on 'border crossing facilitation,'
the Americans have taken on 'regulatory convergence,' and the
Mexicans are looking at 'energy integration' in everything from
electrical grids to the locating of liquid natural gas terminals.
They plan to present recommendations to the ministers in October.
This is how the future of North America now promises to be written:
not in a sweeping trade agreement on which elections will turn, but
by the accretion of hundreds of incremental changes implemented by
executive agencies, bureaucracies and regulators. 'We've decided not
to recommend any things that would require legislative changes,'
says Covais. 'Because we won't get anywhere.' " See:
Meet NAFTA 2.0
- COMING IN 2007:
Construction is set to begin on the "NAFTA superhighway".
- COMING IN 2007: Another
trilateral meeting, to be held in Canada. The six actions towards
creating a North American Union (NAU)aka a North American Community
as set out in the Cancun Leaders' Statement will have been taken in
part or in full. Regarding regulations, according to the statement:
"We affirm our commitment to strengthen regulatory cooperation in
[food safety] and other key sectors and to have our central
regulatory agencies complete a trilateral regulatory cooperation
framework by 2007."
Sources aside from articles provided
within the timeline:
Vive le Canada.ca, FAQ,
Sovereignty vs Deep
Integration
North American Forum on Integration,
NAFTA Timeline
North American Union/Testimony, Publications
and Reports, Sourcewatch, a project of the Center for Media and
Democracy,
North American
Union/Testimony, Publications and Reports
Free Market News Network Corp,
N. AM. UNION
TIMELINE
Wikipedia, various entries,
Wikipedia.org
Join the
Red and White Ribbon
Campaign for Canadian
Sovereignty, and say NO to deep integration and a North American
Union!
Our mission is to involve Canadians in grassroots efforts to protect and
improve Canadian sovereignties and democracy, especially using existing
and emerging communications tools. For more on our mission and vision,
see:
mission/vision
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