What’s Going On North of the Border: The Canadian Economy and Stimulus Plan

~~By InsightAnalytical-GRL

Recently we posted information about how Canadian banks are moving into buy U.S. financial institutions (See: Canadian Banks On the Move Buying U.S. Banks While Bailout Recipient AIG Sells Canadian Life Insurance Business to Bank of Montreal (”Picking over the Carcasses”).

Things in Canada aren’t all rosy, of course. As of late January:

“The credit crisis and the global sell-off of commodities have started to hit Canada hard. The country lost more than 100,000 jobs in the last two months of 2008, and the central bank is predicting economic output will contract 4.8 percent in the first quarter.”

When Obama visited Canada last month (February 19, the two leaders pledged to work together:

Obama said the US and Canada were working closely together bilaterally and within the G8 and G20 – two blocs made up of the world’s largest economies – to see how to restore confidence in financial markets.

Like much of the world, both nations are battling a severe recession. In Canada, the world’s eighth-largest economy, the unemployment rate in January soared to a four-year high of 7.2 per cent. That rate was at 7.6 per cent in the US, the highest since 1992. Harper said he and Obama agreed that Canada and the US “must work closely to counter the global economic recession by implementing mutually beneficial stimulus measures.”He later said: “We know, as a small economy, we can’t recover without recovery in the United States.”

SNIP

NAFTA had threatened to become an acrimonious issue during this visit. On the presidential campaign trail, Obama had said that the US would threaten to pull out of NAFTA unless Canada and Mexico agreed to strengthen labour and environmental protections. But he has softened his stance since taking office.

Well, if you’re going to have a North American community, I guess some stances HAVE to be softened…

A few days before Obama hit town, The Hill Times, “Canada’s Politics and Government Newsweekly,” ran this story:

Canada needs whistleblowers to protect stimulus package

Given the $1-billion gun registry overrun and the sponsorship scandal, there’s little reason to trust that this unprecedented expenditure will be managed competently or even honestly.

Displaying start of article containing 755 words – Many Canadians rightly fear that the massive government spending recently announced may simply be wasted or the money end up in the wrong hands, without creating jobs or helping the economy. Given the track record of our corporations (with fiascos like Bre-X and Nortel) and past government waste and corruption (such as the $1-billion gun registry overrun and the sponsorship scandal) we have little reason to trust that this unprecedented expenditure will be managed competently or even honestly.

Sounds so familiar!

And the newsletter I receive from Radio Canada International had this tidbit one day:

TORONTO: CBC IN STRAITS

Canadian Broadcasting Corp. President Hubert Lacroix says the public broadcaster is considering reducing services in coming months to cope with budget problems. In a speech in Toronto, Mr. Lacroix says the CBC faces an advertising shortfall of as much as $65 million for the fiscal year ending March 31, as advertisers reduce spending amidst the ongoing economic crisis. Mr. Lacroix says that while the CBC will likely break even this year, the future is problematic. The president said the broadcaster may sell assets, consolidate local stations or introduce more U.S. television shows. Mr. Lacroix says he has asked for a meeting with the prime minister, Mr. Harper, not to ask for a bigger subsidy but possibly for a line of credit or an advance of funding allotted for future years. On Wednesday, a spokeswoman for Heritage Minister James Moore told The Globe and Mail newspaper that the government expects the CBC to manage with its $1-billion a year subsidy. Meanwhile, The Globe reported on Thursday that private broadcaster CTV plans to close money-losing television stations in Windsor and Wingham, ON.

Meanwhile,  Canadian Auto Worker union members will finish voting today on a tentative agreement which may or may not get the approval of the Canadian government. Although union negotiators have agreed to concessions, it’s not clear sailing:

The new deal is contingent on GM winning financial support from the governments of Canada and Ontario.

Federal Industry Minister Tony Clement has suggested the deal may not be acceptable to Ottawa, although he seemed more receptive today.

“I’m not here to pass judgment,” Clement said after a speech to the C.D. Howe Institute. “For government money to flow, there has to be the ability to be competitive in the new marketplace, there has to be a viable plan on a go-forward basis, there has to be the right kind of management decisions that have been made.”

Clement suggested that in the end, the only thing that will save the auto industry is the American consumer.

“If you’re asking me what will save the auto sector in North America, it’s what American consumers do and buy, not just what Canadians do and buy.”

GM and Chrysler have until March 31 to finalize restructuring plans to get access to Canadian government financial aid.

So, while Canada may not have the same problems with its financial institutions that we are  seeing  in the U.S.,  the spillover of the U.S. banking system’s crisis and our economic woes is unavoidable.  The condition of the Canadian financial system will have to be watched as Canadian banks assume more risk as they take over U.S. assets.

And, as of the moment, the Canadian government’s stimulus package remains hung up as the budget has still not passed the “Liberal-dominated Senate” as Opposition members demand “reports” on the details:

The reports, which detail the budget’s implementation and costs, are to be delivered this March, June and December ahead of opposition days in Parliament. This would give opposition parties the chance to move a no-confidence motion against the government if they wanted to trigger an election.

How about that? An opposition that could trigger a election.

Meanwhile, there was some fighting over the price tag in the bill to fund the government through September that passed yesterday. The $410 billion bill, on top of the $787 billion stimulus package approved in February is starting to bring out the rancor. But:

While most of the votes throughout the debate were along party lines, eight Republicans crossed the aisle to vote to end the weeklong debate on the legislation while three Democrats opposed it. The Senate approved the measure by a voice vote.

So much for a solid opposition here…

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More information on the Canadian stimulus plan and a comparison of the U.S. vs. the  Canadian situations and priorities

Canada’s Stimulus Plan–The Canadian plan focuses on infrastructure.  This article provides a list of measures and a chart of the action plan

Canada’s Fiscal Stimulus Package versus the Obama U.S. Plans

THE PROPOSED NORTH AMERICAN COMMUNITY/NORTH AMERICAN UNION: 2010 Is Just Around the Corner

~~By American Lassie

On October 15, 2004, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations said: “Ten years after NAFTA, it is obvious that the security and economic futures of Canada, Mexico, and The United States are intimately bound.  But there is precious little thinking available as to where the three countries need to be in another ten years, and how to get there.  I am excited about the potential of this task force to help fill this void.”

Sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations, with the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the Consejo Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionales (The Mexican Council on Foreign Relations), an Independent Task Force was formed to study and all facets of interaction among the three countries – The United States, Canada, and Mexico.  The Task Force’s main recommendation is the establishment of a North American Economics and Security Community by 2010.  Boundaries would be defined by a common external tariff and an outer security perimeter.

THE CO-CHAIRS OF THE TASK FORCE WERE:

John P. Manley – senior counsel at the law firm of McCarthy Ttrault LLP and a director of the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce.

Pedro Aspe – a representative of the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

William F. Weld – Mr. Weld is with McDermott, Will, and Emory LLP New York office,  former governor of Massachusetts.

THE VICE-CHAIRS OF THE TASK FORCE:

Thomas P. d’Aquina – Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) a research and advocacy group.

Andres Rosenthal – International Idea board member and former deputy Foreign Minister of Mexico – Ambassador at large and special envoy to former Mexican President Fox and current President Felipe Calderon.

Robert A. Proctor – American University, Center for North American Studies.  Has advocated a Monetary Union with its currency to be called the “Amero”.

ABOUT THE COUNCIL OF FOREIGN RELATIONS:

The Council of Foreign Relations is an independent organization, founded in 1921 with a national membership and a nonpartisan center for scholars dedicated to producing and disseminating ideas so that individual and corporate members, as well as policy makers, students, journalists and interested citizens in the United States and other countries, can better understand the world and the foreign policy choices facing the United States and other governments.

The CFR today has about 3,700 life members (plus five year term members) which over its history have included senior serving politicians, more than a dozen Secretaries of State, former National Security officers, bankers, lawyers, professors, former CIA members and senior media figures.

Some of the better known members are:

Fred Thompson, Dick Cheney, Condoleeza Rice, Colin Powell, John McCain, Jim Gilmore, Newt Gingrich, Robert Gates, Michael Bloomberg, John Kerry, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Alan Greenspen, Joe Biden, Chris Dodd, George Soros, Paul Volcker, Jimmy Carter, Barbara Walters, David Rockefeller, John D. Rockefeller lV, Tom Brokaw, Bill Clinton, David L. Boren, Henry Paulson, Charlie Rose, Angelina Jolie (UN Goodwill Ambassador), Lawrence Eagleburger, Paul R. Krugman, Paul Wolfowitz, John D. Negroponte and Timothy Geithner.

The CFR’s  has a web site has a list of the members of the full Task Force  (see links below this article)

The Canadian Council of Chief Executives:

- (CCCE) Founded in 1976, The Canadian Council of Chief Executives is Canada’s chief business association composed of chief executives of 150 leading Canadian enterprises.  The CCCE was the Canadian private sector leader in the development and promotion of the Canadian – U.S. Free Trade Agreement during the 1980′s and of the subsequent trilateral North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

The Consego Mexicano de Asuntos Internacionale:

- (COMEKI) is the only multi-disciplinary  organization committed to fostering sophisticated, broadly inclusive political discourse and analysis on Mexico’s participation in the international arena and the influence of Mexico’s increasing global orientation on domestic priorities. The council is independent and has no governmental ties.

THEN THERE WAS…

THE WACO, TEXAS MEETING OF TRINATIONAL PRESIDENTS:

Source: The “Building a North American Community” Report (PDF File)

At their meeting in Waco, Texas at the end of March 2005, U.S. President George W. Bush, Mexican President Vicente Fox, and Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin committed their governments to cooperation and joint action.

From the Introduction:

“The three countries are each other’s largest trading partners. More than 80% of Canadian and Mexican trade is with its NAFTA partners. Almost 1/3 of U.S  trade is with Canada and Mexico. ” (Page 1) They are interdependent on energy.  “In 2004, Canada and Mexico were the two largest exporters of oil to the U.S.  Canada supplies the U.S. with roughly 90% of its imported natural gas and all of its imported electricity.” (Page 2)

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The Task Force says there are common security dangers.  North America is considered to be more than a fact of geography;  it is a partnership of sovereign states with overlapping economies and security interests where major developments in one country can and do have a powerful impact on the other two.”   Since NAFTA, increased global commercial competition and international terrorism has emerged as a serious regional and global danger.  The Task Force feels deepening ties among the three countries of North America would bring continued benefits for Canada, Mexico and the U.S.   “…a trajectory toward a more integrated and prosperous North America is neither inevitable or irreversible.” (Page 2)

To that end, the Task Force proposes the creation by 2010 of
a North American community to enhance security, prosperity, and
opportunity. We propose a community based on the principle affirmed
in the March 2005 Joint Statement of the three leaders that ‘‘our
security and prosperity are mutually dependent and complementary.’’
Its boundaries will be defined by a common external tariff and an outer
security perimeter within which the movement of people, products,
and capital will be legal, orderly, and safe. Its goal will be to guarantee
a free, secure, just, and prosperous North America. (Page 3)

Page 4

The report says that workers need an “unfettered basis to meet challenges of global competition.  Unwieldly North American rules of origin, increasing congestion at borders, regulatory differences, raise costs instead of reducing them.”  The Task Force feels that trade is “far from free”  and disputes in agriculture , natural resources and energy have been a source of disagreement.

Page 5:

“Mexico has failed to prevent deep disparities between different regions of the country… Lack of economic opportunity has led to corruption, drug trafficking, violence and human suffering.  Improvements in human capital and physical infrastructure in Mexico, particularly in the center and south of the country are needed.”  The Task Force feels “the three governments should approach continental issues together with a trinational perspective rather than the traditional “dual-bilateral” approach.”  They feel the U.S. and Canada should open the door to “more extensive cooperation with Mexico” with regard to trinational military cooperation and defense institutions.  “Shared concerns range from regional economic growth to law enforcement, from energy security, to regulation policy, from dispute resolution to continental defense.“

Page 6
The Task Force feel that “the focus should be on the creation of a common economic space that expands economic opportunities for all people in the region – a space in which trade, capital, and people flow freely…Progress in security will allow a more open border for the movement of goods and people…progress on regulatory matters will reduce the need for active customs administration and release resources to boost security.”

“A North American strategy must provide real gains for all partners.  Poverty and deprivation are breeding grounds for political instability and undermine both national and regional security.”  The Task Force believes that ” the progress of the poorest among us will be one measure of success.”

Recommendations begin on Page 7 of the Report and lists short-term actions and long-term steps to be taken by 2010:

“Lay the groundwork for the freer flow of people within North America.” (Page 10)  The goal is less intense control of cross-border traffic, travel and trade within North America.

LAW ENFORCEMENT and MILITARY COOPERATION (Pages 10-12)

The Task Force proposes an expansion of NORAD and “information and intelligence-sharing at the local and national levels in both law enforcement and military organizations.”

SPREAD THE BENEFITS OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (Page 13):

The World Bank estimated in 2000 that $20 Billion per year for a decade is needed for essential infrastructure and educational projects in Mexico.

The Task Force feels that “all three countries need to acknowledge that a major regional effort is also necessary… Canada and the U.S. should build on their bi-lateral initiatives supporting Mexico’s development.  Mexico should also be recognized as a priority within the international development programs of both the U.S. and Canada, and both should explore with the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, ways to use multilateral development funds to address the North American Development challenge.”

ESTABLISH A NORTH AMERICAN INVESTMENT FUND FOR INFRASTRUCTURE AND HUMAN CAPITAL (Page 14):

The Task Force feels that The United States and Canada should establish a North American Investment Fund to encourage private capital flow into Mexico.  “The fund would focus on increasing and improving physical infrastructure linking the less developed parts of Mexico to markets in the north.”

CREATING A NORTH AMERICAN ECONOMIC SPACE (Page 18):

Creating a common economic zone through the elimination of remaining tariff after NAFTA. The Task Force recommends a SEAMLESS North American approach to regulation, increasing labor mobility, and enhancing support for North American education progress. To establish a trinational commission to address harmful subsidy practices, to promote healthy competition and to protect against predatory pricing.

The March 2005 summit in Texas highlighted the importance of building the economic strength of the Continent. The Security and Prosperity Partnership for North America signed by Bush, Fox and Martin firmed a series of working groups under designated lead cabinet ministers, to report regularly on progress.

SECURITY AND PROSPERITY PARTNERSHIP (Page 22):

In March, 2005 the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the U.S. adopted a Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) President George Bush described the significance of the SPP as putting forward a common commitment  “to markets and democracy, freedom and trade, and mutual prosperity and security”.

OPEN SKIES AND OPEN ROADS (Page 25):

“Governments should consider the benefits of allowing North American transportation firms unlimited access to each other’s territory, including full cabotage (trade between two points within a country; for example, a Canadian trucker hauling freight from Chicago to Los Angeles, or an American Airline carrying passengers between Mexico City and Monterrey) for airlines and surface carriers.” This would mean Mexican trucking companies could contract for hauling business in the United States or Canada totally inside what we now call U.S. and Canadian borders.

“TESTED ONCE” FOR BIOTECHNOLOGY AND PHARMACEUTICALS (Page 25):

A product tested in one country would meet the standards set by another, or to establish a North American testing center with personnel from each country, integrating protection of food, health and the environment.

Also included: the development of  a unified North American Border Plan with “a North American Border Pass with biometric identifier to allow its bearer expedited passage through customs, immigration, and airport security throughout the region.”

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Important quotes to leave you with which pertain to the CFR:

1. “The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is the American branch of a society which originated in England……(and)…….believes national boundaries should be obliterated and one-world rule established” —Carroll Quigley, Dean of The School of Foreign Service at Georgetown University — Dean Quigley  – a CFR member and mentor of former President Bill Clinton.
2. “The main purpose of the Council on Foreign Relations is promoting the disarmament of U.S. soverignty and independence and submergence into an all powerful one world government.” — Admiral Chester Ward, former CFR member and Judge Advocate General of the U.S. Navy.
3. “The money to fund the CFR came in part from J.P. Morgan, John D. Rockefeller, Bernard Baruch, Otto Kahn, Jacob  Schiff and Paul Warburg.” —Eric Saunders, J.D.
4. “Since its founding …The CFR has been the preeminent intermediary between the world of high finance, big oil, corporate elitism, and the U.S. Government.  Its members slide smoothly into cabinet-level jobs in Republican and Democratic administrations.   The policies promulgated in its quarterly journal, “Foreign Affairs” become U.S.Government policy.” —Jonathan Vankin, Author.

SOURCES

Creating a North American Community, Chairman’s Statement (CFR, 2005)

Building a North American Union (Full list of Task Force members published by CFR, 2005)

(Additional reports and audio available on the above pages.)

www.eagleforum.org/topics/NAU

www.spp.govfactsheet.asp (Scrubbed?)

www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=17142

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Union

www.wikiyourrights.com/wiki/North_American_Union

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Additional editing and sourcing by InsightAnalytical-GRL