Several
speakers at the event emphasized the importance of "deepening
economic integration," "integrating the energy infrastructure" and
"the development of new institutions" between the three North
American nations.
Participants
promoted the idea of using popular issues, such as concern over
climate change, to push integration of energy and environmental
governance and the possibility of imposing a carbon tax.
Judicial Watch released yesterday the documents it received in a
FOIA request from the U.S. Northern Command, whose commander,
Admiral Timothy Keating, participated in the conference along with
Northcom political adviser Deborah Bolton and Plans, Policy and
Strategy Director Maj. General Mark Volcheff. A similar request
concerning participation in the North American Forum meeting by
former
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld
is still pending.
At least one
attendee of the conference said the meeting was intended to subvert
the democratic process. Mel Hurtig, a Canadian author and publisher
elected as the leader of the National Party of Canada, told WND last
fall the idea of the North American Forum is to move the countries
toward integration without public consent or even knowledge.
"What is
sinister about this meeting is that it involved high level
government officials and some of the top and most powerful business
leaders of the three countries and the North American Forum in
organizing the meeting intentionally did not inform the press in any
of the three countries," he said. "It was clear that the intention
was to keep this important meeting about integrating the three
countries out of the public eye."
The
conference raised more suspicions about plans for the future merger
of the U.S., Canada and Mexico – with topics ranging from "A Vision
for North America," "Opportunities for Security Cooperation" and
"Demographic and Social Dimensions of North American Integration."
Confirmed
participants included Rumsfeld, former Secretary of State George
Shultz, who serves as co-chairman of the North American Forum,
former Central Intelligence Agency Director R. James Woolsey, former
Immigration and Naturalization Services Director Doris Meissner,
North American Union guru Robert Pastor, former Defense Secretary
William Perry, former Energy Secretary and Defense Secretary James
Schlesinger and top officials of both Mexico and Canada. But the
only media member scheduled to appear at the event, according to
documents obtained by WND, was the Wall Street Journal's Mary
Anastasia O'Grady.
The event
was organized by the Canadian Council of Chief Executives and the
Canada West Foundation, an Alberta think-tank that promotes closer
economic integration with the United States.
The next
meeting of the North American Forum is set for Oct. 12-14 in Puerto
Vallarta.
The
Canadian event is another in a series of meetings, policy papers and
directives that have citizens, officials and members of the media
wondering whether these efforts represent some sort of coordinated
effort to implement a "merger" some have characterized as "NAFTA on
steroids."
Prominent at the Banff conference was Robert
Pastor, an American University professor who wrote
"Toward a North American Community,"
a book promoting the development of a North American union as a
regional government and the adoption of the amero as a common
monetary currency to replace the dollar and the peso.
American
University Professor Robert Pastor |
Pastor also was vice chairman of the May 2005 Council on Foreign
Relations task force entitled
"Building a North American Community"
that presents itself as a blueprint for using bureaucratic action
within the executive branches of Mexico, the U.S. and Canada to
transform the current trilateral Security and Prosperity Partnership
of North America into a North American union regional government.
He calls
for the establishment of a North American Community, which some view
as a significant step toward a European Union-style system of
regional or continental governance.
"Increasing
interdependence offers additional costs and opportunities," he told
the Banff audience. "To mitigate the dangers and expand the benefits
of a more integrated and less regulated market requires continental
plans and institutions. It requires a new consciousness among both
leaders and people – a new way of thinking about our neighbors. This
will take time, but we want to begin the journey."
Pastor
continued: "Our purpose is to build a greater sense of being a part
of North America. We do not want to displace the pride each of us
feel in our countries, but rather to supplement that with a feeling
of being North American. We do so not to build a fortress or to
separate ourselves from the world. On the contrary, we want to
connect better with our closest neighbors in order to strengthen our
ability to compete in the world and to serve as a models for other
regional groups."
Pastor said narrowing the gap in income "may be the single most
important issue on the North American agenda." He pointed hopefully
to a bill introduced June 29, 2006, by Sen. John Cornyn calling for
a North American Investment Fund to channel grants to Mexico for
this purpose. He failed to note, however, that Cornyn had
already
withdrawn his bill two months prior to the Banff conference after
the senator was alerted by WND to the role it played in fostering
regional government in North America.
