It's been a few days and I've not voiced my opinion. I was working on a much longer tirade, but have instead given up on it because it would never get out the door if I continued with it. Instead you get this hasty post with quotes and links, so you can research the problem on your own. For the record my official stance is that Paul Martin is proving to be as big a douchebag as I've said all along.
The Globe and Mail writes:
So what exactly did we accomplish in this summit you ask? Well Martin apologetically fellated Mr Bush for the Missile Defence thing, and well... that's about it.
The Globe and Mail writes:
The North American security and prosperity partnership, signed three days ago by Canada, Mexico and the United States, has a familiar sound and feel. It sounds and feels remarkably like the North American security and prosperity agenda launched in January of 2003 by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, Canada's premier big-business lobby group, and blessed in Washington two months later at a meeting between Canadian business leaders and senior Bush administration officials. Security, the Canadians were told, trumps all other concerns; if they wanted the border to stay open, they would have to help build a security perimeter around North America and support America's military, energy and economic interests abroad.Counterpunch's take
The pre-announced "Alliance for Security and Prosperity" was barely mentioned in the official declarations. Unspecified working groups are slated to elaborate on unspecified proposals, and present strategies in three months. Emphasizing that "(security and prosperity) go hand in hand" Bush stated that the prosperity agenda in the hemisphere is based on free trade while the security agenda continues to pivot on counterterrorism measures.The Star:
Although unsaid, the prosperity part also has to do with the need for the United States to reinforce the North American Free Trade Agreement in the face of the dismal prospects of the Free Trade Agreement of the Americas .
Canadians are angry at the needless U.S. ban on Canadian cattle that has cost us $7 billion, and the outrageous American tariffs on lumber that have cost us $4.5 billion more, at a time when we are spending $16 billion more on defence and aid, to bolster U.S. security.
Reports indicate that the new agreement doesn't resolve the more contentious issues between the countries such as the U.S. ban on Canadian beef and the tariff dispute over Canadian softwood lumber.In short, we've made a deal to spend more money in border defence in order to build what the U.S. calls a "Smart Border" which consists of building a massive security perimeter around the whole of North America. This Smart Border would "Make it easier for business people to cross borders.", not regular citizens mind you, just business people and workers with H8 visas. In return for this massive waste of our money, the U.S. would do nothing to resolve the seemingly never ending softwood/beef issue.
So what exactly did we accomplish in this summit you ask? Well Martin apologetically fellated Mr Bush for the Missile Defence thing, and well... that's about it.


