North American Leaders Meet as Part of SPP

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The SPP, or The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America was launched in March of 2005 among the United States, Canada and Mexico to strengthen and bolster the security and prosperity of the North American nations. A number of falsehoods and misinformation have circulated among the Internet, such to the extent that a myth vs fact page was created to deal with these issues.

http://www.spp.gov/myths_vs_facts.asp

Only three of the 23 North American sovereign nations are involved in this initiative, which has no signed treaty or agreement as of yet.

The respective executive members of the the three largest North American nations met on August 20-21 2007 to discuss a number of issues affecting the main continental body of North America such as border security, commerce agreements, and other issues like the North American Plan for Avian and Pandemic Influenza. This initiative has been largely unofficial, as seen in White House Press Secretary Tony Snow's press briefing dated 31 JUL 2007. Remarking about a phone conversation between President Bush and Prime Minster Harper, Tony Snow said,

"During today's conversation, they shared initial thoughts about the summit. They also reviewed a range of bilateral issues including the situation with softwood lumber and implementation of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative. They briefly touched upon other issues related to the Western Hemisphere, including the importance of supporting President Uribe of Colombia with approval of the free trade agreement with Colombia. Furthermore, the President thanked the Prime Minister for Canada's steadfast support for the people of Afghanistan."

The dialogue last Monday was cordial, as they discussed their private lives and interpersonal relationships, despite the political implications of the meetings. Prime Minister Harper thanked President Calderon for a nice weekend spent between their two families just prior to the summit. Prime Minister Harper followed up the affable discourse with an important statement that reflects the goals of the SPP.

"As sovereign nations in our modern world, we are not merely independent but also interdependent. And we are determined to cooperate for our mutual security, our continued economic growth, and the improvement of our North American relations are unique in the world."

This meeting received limited attention in the media, and indeed many may never have heard of the SPP. Citizen Journalist Picasso set the stage with this well written article before the event happened, and included more details than most mainstream media articles.

Also discussed at the summit was information pertaining to each country.
President Bush answered questions about Iraq and the state of the government there. He vocalized a common dissatisfaction with the Iraqi Parliament,

"The Iraqi people made a great step toward reconciliation when they passed the most modern constitution in the Middle East, and now their government has got to perform. And I think there's a certain level of frustration with the leadership in general, inability to work -- to come to get, for example, an oil revenue law passed or provincial elections."

He did point out though that the Parliament has passed 60 pieces of legislation and some things are happening without the passage of legislation, such as the distribution of oil revenue.

President Calderon expressed concern over Hurricane Dean, a category 5 hurricane that recently touched down in Mexico causing 14 deaths and $800 million in damage in Mexico alone. The Hurricane was the first category 5 to make landfall in 15 years, and caused a total of 42 deaths and ~$3.8 billion in damage. Possible economic damage to the U.S. and other countries was not addressed during this discourse on individual concerns. For example, rising gas prices, always an issue in the U.S., may go up again as the hurricane damaged Mexican oil production, the eightlargest proven reserve in the world.

"We are then awaiting that Hurricane Dean will enter the Campeche area, where the main oil production occurs in Mexico. We have ordered the suspension of oil production. All 20,000 workers have been taken away from the platforms, and there's about two and a half million oil barrels that have been lost until now. But we have been able to save lives, and later again Hurricane Dean will go into Veracruz, and this will create different problems to those of the Yucatan Peninsula."

It could be implied that Prime Minister Harper threatened military action against the U.S. by declaring the Northwest Passage as Canadian territory.

"Canada, as you know, is fully committed to strengthening its Arctic sovereignty on every level, not just military, but economic, society, environmental, any other method, any other means."

However he and President Bush both respectfully agreed they will be able to make arrangements as their predecessors President Reagan and Prime Minister Mulroney had, as President Bush said,

"We believe it's an international passageway. Having said that, the United States does not question Canadian sovereignty over its Arctic islands, and the United States supports Canadian investments that have been made to exercise its sovereignty."

In regards to a North American Union, all three representatives seemed to think the idea laughable. Each of them stated it is in the best interests of the three powerful nations, that all border one another, to meet and discuss ideas while standardizing some. Each felt their sovereignty would be strengthened by the commerce agreements as well as improving the quality of life for their people, as said by President Calderon,

"And it's not a question of customs unions, let alone having an integration that would actually encroach on the sovereignty and culture and resources of each country. We simply have to take advantage of this opportunity of being neighbors and allies in order to generate prosperity and security for our people. That is the purpose of these meetings."

This idea was resonated by President Bush,

"And I'm amused by some of the speculation, some of the old -- you can call them political scare tactics. If you've been in politics as long as I have, you get used to that kind of technique where you lay out a conspiracy and then force people to try to prove it doesn't exist. That's just the way some people operate. I'm here representing my nation. I feel strongly that the United States is a force for good, and I feel strongly that by working with our neighbors we can a stronger force for good."

Border security was of course a hot topic at the summit, as seen from the joint press conference. President Bush emphasized the need for a joint action to combat drug trafficking as it crosses the borders, while President Calderon stressed the need for Mexican sovereignty and his desire to not have U.S. troops on Mexican soil. His indignation at the murder of three federal policeman in Mexico two weeks ago strengthened his resolve for a joint operation with the United States. He declared,

"It has to be confronted by, dealt with by the people and by the governments that are directly affected by this scourge. And it requires a variety, multiplicity of actions carried out by society, by governments; in other words, enforcement activities against criminals, preventive activities, protective activities, prevention and treatment of addictions with the young."

This discussion highlighted the need for the SPP, as Prime Minister Harper pointed out, "

Once again, this is a perfect example of why we meet. We're sovereign countries, but problems are not -- problems don't limit themselves to the boundaries of our countries. Drug trafficking is a perfect example. These problems may originate in some of the countries of Latin America or the Caribbean, but the problems are felt on the streets and in the communities of Canada. And that's why we meet to discuss, that's why we meet to compare strategies, that's why we, from time to time, have to engage in shared action. "

The full text of the press conference can be found here
The Security and Prosperity Partnership Of North America has several web pages through various government agencies. You may find the official web page here

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