| feb 10 2007 | | Wot Democracy? | A few years ago the buzz was all about the Amero which was a proposed currency union between America, Canada and Mexico based on the concept of the Euro adopted by the European Union. One of the strongest proponents in Canada was the Fraser Institute. The problem was the obvious distortion posed by the dominance of the United States and the horrendous fiscal imbalances they would bring into the union, at the expense of Canada and Mexico.
Canadian critics of a common currency take three main positions. The first is that the present system has worked well, so why tamper with it? The second is that a unique Canadian currency is a necessary bulwark of our sovereignty and independence. The third is a claim that the United States would never cooperate in any event. Or would they? As theirs is a bankrupt fiat currency, it would do well to kill the dollar and have the Amero rise phoenix-like from the ashes.
And there the discussion of a United States of All North America may have ended but not so. Unknown and without public debate, meetings have been going on to create one North American Block. Confidential meetings that were not made public and discovered from documents released under the Freedom of Information.
Canadian, U.S. and Mexican politicians discussed using "stealth" to overcome public resistance to the integration of the three countries at a confidential meeting last year.
The secret guest list of the North American Forum included then-U.S. secretary of defence Donald Rumsfeld, Canadian Chief of Defence Staff Gen. Rick Hillier, Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day, Pengrowth Corp. CEO James Kinnear, Lockheed Martin executive Ron Covais and former finance minister John Manley.
Presentation outlines for the forum acknowledge that the concept of North American integration - which some call a "North American Union" - is unpopular, and note that it might be tough to sell as a concept.
"While a vision is appealing, working on the infrastructure might yield more benefit and bring more people on board ('evolution by stealth')," the notes said.
"Evolution by stealth" means using regulatory changes, such as food- and drug-safety benchmarks, which don't require parliamentary approval, to lay the infrastructure for North American integration. This allows for change with little or no public debate, critics say.
It also called for a pooling of resources. In an America dependent on Middle-East oil and having drained the major aquifers under the States I bet they would like to pool our oil-sands, natural gas and the world’s largest supply of available fresh water. It would take a decade or two to drain the Great Lakes until you could walk across them from Canada to America like the Aral Sea.
"It was meant as a private meeting," said Melisa Leclerc, a spokeswoman from Day's office, although she conceded he attended "in his capacity as minister for public security."
The accord, kickstarted by U.S. President George W. Bush, then-prime minister Paul Martin and former Mexican president Vicente Fox at a 2005 meeting in Waco, Texas, is designed to streamline everything from food and drug safety standards to counter-terrorism measures.
More and more throughout the world governments are deciding what they think is best for their people and by-passing the democratic process. The old saying, ‘you get what you wish for’ may be the result of unaccountable politicians.
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