[van-announce] Resist the Security and Prosperity Partnership Agreement!

[Harsha]

**** RESIST THE SPP! ***

August 20th is a continental day of action to oppose the SPP, a highly
secretive agreement between US, Mexico, and Canada. The SPP is essentially
NAFTA-plus-Homeland Security, firmly rooted within a colonial and
capitalist framework. There is no doubt that the SPP will bring greater
insecurity and misery: murderous wars and occupations abroad; border
militarization; increased detentions and deportations; attacks on
indigenous peoples, the poor, migrants, and working people; ecological
destruction; and mega-projects in the service of corporate greed.

Leading upto August 20th, a wide range of educational events, actions, and
creative resistance is being planned by a growing network of groups and
individuals. Below are just some of the activities being planned, with
many more being planned and confirmed.


==> GETTING INFORMED AND GETTING INVOLVED!
There is a wide variety of educational materials available including
factsheets, zines, slideshow presentations on the SPP that have been
developed. We strongly encourage folks to get in touch if they would like
to access these materials and to share this information with your friends,
family, and groups. We are also happy to setup mini-information sessions
for interested groups, networks, and unions on the hugely significant
impacts of the SPP.

There is also ongoing organizing against the SPP- including outreach; a
series of creative resistance direct actions facilitated by newworld
theatre; coordinated actions across various cities; educational
forums and community meetings and more.If you are interested in getting
involved, there are weekly meetings on Tuesdays and lots more going on, so
please do not hesitate to get in touch. We continue to build a diverse
movement in resistance to the SPP and strongly encourage folks to get in
touch.

Contact information: scrapspp at gmail.com or call 778 885 0040
Info on the SPP: http://noii-van.resist.ca and http://psp-spp.com/?q=en


DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE SPP? COMMUNITY FORUM
Saturday August 11 at 2 pm
Fireside Cafe, 13593 King George Hwy, Surrey
Corner King George and 108 (Right next to Gateway Skytrain)

NATIONAL WEEK OF ACTION TO TARGET THE NACC!
August 10-August 15 across Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver, Montreal and more!
please stay tuned for more details

EVENING TO RESIST THE SPP
Thursday August 16th at 7 pm
Rhizome Cafe 317 East Broadway

CONTINENTAL DAY OF ACTION TO OPPOSE THE SPP!
Monday August 20th at 3 pm
Canada Place (Waterfront Station)
proceed to meet another antiwar/antispp demo at 5:30 pm


==> AUDIO AND VIDEO ON THE SPP:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tlyc6EysAcY
http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=446


==> LEARN ABOUT THE CORPORATE LOBBY BEHIND THE SPP:
The North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) was launched as part of
the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) in June 2006. It is the only
formal advisory board to the SPP and is made up of 30 corporate leaders
from Canada, the U.S. and Mexico with ten advisors from each of the SPP
signatory states. A September 13, 2006 story in Maclean’s magazine
describes NACC as a “cherrypicked group of executives who were whisked to
Cancun in March by the leaders of Canada, the U.S. and Mexico, and asked
to come up with a plan for taking North American integration beyond
NAFTA.”

Read more at: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?p=438


==> WHAT IS THE SPP?
The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP) was founded
in March 2005 at a summit of the Heads of State of Canada, the US, and
Mexico. SPP is not an official treaty; it is not an official law;
therefore it has been able to escape any public scrutiny. The major drive
behind the SPP is a CEO-based organization, which is the only official
advisory group to governments on the SPP.

The real face of SPP is to further an agenda of corporate free trade,
border militarization, criminalization of migration, privatization and
theft of indigenous land and resources, repression in the name of national
security, impoverishment and displacement, and cooperation in war and
occupation.

The SPP is a NAFTA-plus-Homeland-Security model and will involve the
harmonization of over 300 areas of regulations, including: integration of
the military and police, expansion of temporary worker programs as a means
of ensuring low wages, coordination of no-fly lists, expedited resource
extraction particularly oil and water on unceded indigenous territories,
and harmonization of health and environmental regulations to lower
standards and development of a North American alternative to the Kyoto
Protocol.

Read more at: http://noii-van.resist.ca/?page_id=102