Like many topics, the mere mention of the words ‘North American Union’ evokes an almost instantaneous response of ‘Conspiracy Nut’.  That doesn’t necessarily make it incorrect.  When you search for information on the topic you are overwhelmed by the number of conspiracy sites that result.  Perhaps the search is incorrect.

Like the words ‘North American Union’, the mention of organizations like the Council on Foreign Relations and the Trilateral Commission evoke the same automatic response.  ‘Conspiracy Wacko’  It’s easy to find information on the topic, most of it directly from the horses mouth. 

Proposed North American Union

In order to find anything meaningful on the topic, a change of focus is required.  Too much focus has been placed on NAFTA and the SPP, which are part of the process.   Not enough focus is on the overall topics of North American Integration and North American Competitiveness.  One such organization is called FINA-NAFI.

The acronym is composed of the same words in three languages, English, French and Spanish.  North American Forum on Integration is the English version.  The organization has quietly been working toward integration since 2003.  They are working on the development of a model North American Parliament.  A quote from their website follows.

“Our Board of Directors is composed of influential personalities from all three countries of NAFTA, who share the same wish to develop economic and political links between the three partners by promoting a pragmatic North American agenda”

Member Nations Flags

Another organization, NACC, the North American Competitiveness Council, is also working on integration.  This organization is part of the Council of the Americas.  Their mission statement is below.

“The Council of the Americas is a business organization whose members share a common commitment to free trade and open markets throughout the Americas”

In an April 2008 report titled ‘Meeting the Global Challenge’, the NACC reported that they “are “deeply concerned” about recent isolationist rhetoric and its potential impact on efforts to strengthen the competitiveness of the three countries”.  The PDF report can be seen by clicking here.  Another excerpt is below, note that North America is referred to as a single political entity.

“North America will require discussion of measures that will generate controversy. Security-related issues, in particular, can be complex and controversial. This should not impede progress, however, toward finding reasonable and effective solutions.”

Work continues within the governments of the three nations to level the playing field.  Changing laws to ease integration.  One such place where a change to existing law is required for integration to succeed is to loosen immigration laws.  Much effort was made last year on immigration reform through the Immigration Reform Act.  Those efforts failed, but they will be back, the work on changes to immigration policy continues. 

Proposed North American Union Flag

 

One more major hurdle to North American Integration in the past was the strong US dollar.  The task of merging currencies is a difficult one.  In the past the US Dollar has been much stronger than the Canadian Dollar and the Mexican Peso.  Perhaps we are seeing an intentional weakening of the dollar to ease integration.  Take for example this interesting piece of testimony before congress in June of 2005.

“the way to reduce illegal immigration is to make Mexico’s economy grow faster than that of the U.S.”

This quote is by Robert Pastor.  Here’s the full testimony advocating North American Integration.

By decreasing the power of the US dollar, supporters of North American Integration may be trying to lower both the hurdle to immigration reform and the hurdle to an integrated currency.  The idea of an integrated currency may soon be proposed as a way to stop the falling dollar and economic disaster in the US. 

So, is the integration of the three countries, the US, Canada, and Mexico a bad idea?  Possibly not, it may make sense, but the way it is done is very important.  We as citizens of the three countries should be part of the process.  It is impossible for us to make informed decisions on the subject without being included in the process.

 The fear of North American Integration and the denial by some that it exists, comes from the fact that it is being developed privately.  The people privately working on integration come from within government entities, educational organizations and powerful corporations.  We as citizens are not included in the debates.  Being excluded from the process has the effect of creating fear, possibly unfounded fear, but then again, possibly well founded fear.

On the surface, the stated reasons for integration appear corporate in nature.  It is true that opening the borders will ease the flow of goods and services between the three countries.  It will also allow for greater ability to compete with other such unions around the world, most notable the EU (European Union), but also the African Union, and the South American Union.  Other unions are on the way, such as the proposed Asian Union.

Unions

On the other hand, some of the negatives might include the possible elimination of our Constitution and the creation of a new one.  That would likely mean the loss of some rights for US citizens.  It would also probably increase the power and influence of large corporations, which would have the effect of further decreasing the influence of ordinary citizens.  It would also mean a major increase in the size and scope of government and a whole new layer of laws.

At one time the notion of a European Union was thought of as a wild, unfounded conspiracy theory.  That notion has been proven incorrect.  The notion that the ‘North American Union’ is a wild, unfounded conspiracy theory will likewise be proven incorrect, someday. 

Since most of the work is being done in secret by people who then publicly deny that the work is being done, is by at least one definition a conspiracy.  That the work is being done can be easily verified.  The ‘proof’ comes directly from the organizations working on integration.  So the answer is yes on both counts, it is both a conspiracy and it is real.

Links (From the “Horses Mouth”)

NACC

Council of the Americas

FINA-NAFI

A North American Community Approach to Security

Center for North American Studies

CSIS

The impact of NAFTA and options for tax reform in Mexico

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 9th, 2008 at 1:45 pm and is filed under News & Comment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.