Written by Ontario Student Movement  Tuesday, 22 April 2008

NEW ORLEANS – Over 30 students from 5 Ontario Universities and Colleges have travelled to attend the New Orleans People’s Summit and participate in various actions opposing the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) and the ongoing marginalization of Hurricane Katrina survivors. On April 17th several Canadian organizations began the long trek to New Orleans for The People`s Summit which is taking place from April 20th-22nd. Its purpose is to counter the meeting of North American heads-of-state with the North American Competitiveness Council. The meeting is an annual summit as part of the Security and Prosperity Partnership often referred to as the “North American Union” or “NAFTA on steroids.” Set to harmonize standards among the three countries, this Partnership also includes such agenda items as continental security, defense, and labour regulations. Initial stages of the Partnership have begun in 2001 and are set to complete in 2010 with a final summit in Canada.

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Edmonton… Strengthening Alberta-U.S. relations and reinforcing Alberta’s commitment to environmentally
sustainable development of the oil sands are the main areas of focus for Ron Stevens, Deputy Premier and
Minister of International and Intergovernmental Relations, as he travels to Washington, D.C., April 26-30. “Alberta remains committed to building on the foundations of its strong relations with the United States,” said Stevens. “We are at a critical stage where we need to demonstrate to the world that we are a global leader in responsible resource development
and in technology and innovation.”

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Wednesday, April 23, 2008 CBC News

Construction crews will soon be digging trenches and laying a major oil pipeline along the scenic route through Mount Robson Provincial Park, which covers 224,866 hectares through the B.C. portion of the Rocky Mountains. Once the project is complete, it will allow Kinder Morgan Canada, the company building the pipeline, to ship an extra 40,000 barrels of oil each day from Alberta to markets in the Lower Mainland, the U.S., and Asia. That will increase the capacity of the existing pipeline from 260,000 to 300,000 barrels per day.

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April 10, 2008. Posted by Stuart Trew

Homeland Security czar Michael Chertoff met with Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day in Ottawa this week to discuss progress on the Security and Prosperity Partnership. As remarked in a subsequent press release, one of the issues they focused on were so-called enhanced driver’s licenses, like the one British Columbia is developing in cooperation with Washington State officials.

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March 26, 2008. By Todd Gordon, March, 26 2008, Z Net.

The recent jailing of six activists from Kitchenuhmaykoosib Inninuwug (KI), a fly-in Cree community 600 Km. north of Thunder Bay, is an unambiguous warning to northern First Nation communities who dare stand in the way of governments’ and resource companies’ plans to develop the north.  On March 17, the six KI members were handed six month jail sentences for contempt of court by the Ontario Superior Court in Thunder Bay. The contempt of court ruling was made after the court ruled in the fall 2007 that junior mining exploration company, Platinex, can legally drill for Platinum deposits on traditional KI territory, despite the First Nation community’s long-standing opposition to Platinex’s plans. KI activists ignored the ruling, and physically stopped Platinex workers from commencing drilling on their land. Activists, including a KI Ontario Provincial Police Officer (OPP), threatened to arrest the Platinex workers if they didn’t back off (no doubt presenting to political and OPP leaders a potentially serious loophole in their aboriginal self-policing policy).

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