Please be respectful!

I would like to remind everybody commenting to please stay respectful of your peers in the comments section of this blog.

It is very easy to write words on a screen, but this is not a forum for personal attacks.

Free speech is important, of course, and that goes without saying. But please don't hijack this blog.

SFUO one of largest, most active delegations in New Orleans

SFUO one of largest, most active delegations in New Orleans

by Nick Taylor-Vaisey
photography by Meaghan Walton

When twelve University of Ottawa students boarded buses bound for a conference in New Orleans to criticize the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America, they didn’t expect to be one of the largest delegations—student or otherwise.

The Student Federation of the University of Ottawa’s (SFUO) destination was the People’s Summit, a conference that provided a critical view of the exclusive North American Leaders’ Summit that brought Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush, and Mexican President Felipe Calderón to New Orleans April 20–22.

The Ottawa students found a smattering of their colleagues from Peterborough, Guelph, and Toronto staying at the same hostel in New Orleans, and together they represented one of the largest critical voices in the city of the North American leaders.

The SFUO planned one of the most vocal demonstrations of the week against the SPP: a march that started in Jackson Square and snaked its way through the French Quarter. As participants banged on drums and carried signs, others handed out leaflets with information critical of the SPP’s agenda.

Ian Brannigan, an SFUO activist and the incoming vice-president social of the Political, International, and Development Studies Student Association, described the SFUO’s role in New Orleans as a contributor to the larger effort.

“I think our role was just to come down, have a good time, hopefully try to mobilize the locals and just make it aware, because the problem is there isn’t enough awareness. [The SPP is] completely under the lid,” he said.

As it turned out, however, the SFUO was the biggest piece of the puzzle. Throughout the week, it became apparent that no large demonstrations were planned by any New-Orleans-based groups. Any local mobilization was organized by concerned individuals only loosely working together.

NDP MP Peter Julian (Burnaby-New Westminster, B.C.) attended the People’s Summit. After witnessing the absolute devastation that Hurricane Katrina levelled against New Orleans’ Lower Ninth ward, Julian understood why people weren’t protesting.

“You can see what people are struggling against. They don’t have homes; they don’t have places to stay. Hundreds of thousands of them are outside the city and trying to re-establish their lives two and a half years after the catastrophe,” he said.

“The support hasn’t been there for those people at all. I can understand, when they are struggling against those kinds of obstacles, the SPP is probably the last thing that they’re concerned about.”

SFUO VP University Affairs Seamus Wolfe wasn’t entirely surprised that the local effort to protest Bush and the SPP was lacking.

“When I was going through the organizing back in Ottawa, I was phoning down to a lot of the groups that I thought might be involved; just cold calls to groups that I thought might be involved,” he said.

“And the more I started phoning, the more I realized that people here are dealing with some terrible, terrible effects of the SPP, of NAFTA, of neoliberal or neo-colonial agendas. Their needs are so apparent, so deep, so right in front of your eyes, and they need to deal with that first.”

Indeed, local organizers echoed the sentiment. Stan Garczynsai helped put together a small march that wound its way through the streets of New Orleans. He said that the desire to protest was trumped by efforts to rebuild the city.

“People just aren’t very aware, because of confusion. People are trying to rebuild and live their lives here, and not get murdered, so they are more concerned with those things,” he said. “There was not much of a social infrastructure before the storm, so now we’re starting with total grassroots.”

Many New Orleanians were happy that Bush, Harper, and Calderón were meeting in their city. Robert McRaney, a resident of the French Quarter who watched Garczynsai’s march pass by his house, was content with both the summit and its message.

“Having it here is positive. We’re very encouraging about any multilateral cooperation that is extended between Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Certainly, we’re pro-Bush and his aggressive work to try and improve the economy of the United States. It has to include Mexico and Canada,” he said.

“The conference is certainly a positive opportunity, and I hope something good comes of it.”

The People’s Summit

The alternate summit invited local community members and other concerned Americans, Mexicans, and Canadians to a number of workshops and seminars that shed light on the effect that the SPP has had on the lives of North Americans.

Seminars looked broadly at the SPP, but also focused on the alleged militarization of the North American Free Trade Agreement, profiteering in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, implications for immigration, food security, and disaster capitalism.

Canadian civil society groups also attended the summit and included the Council of Canadians, the Communication, Energy and Paperworkers Union, the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Canadian Autoworkers, United Steelworkers, Common Frontiers, and Réseau Québécois sur l'intégration continentale.

The trip to the People’s Summit was partially subsidized by the Student Federation of the University of Ottawa. It set a budget of approximately $3,000, which contributed to travel and accommodation costs, and asked participants to pay an additional $150.

The Star guesses wrong

The Toronto Star reports that at the SPP Summit there were "a dozen or so" protesters. I wonder how they found that number. There weren't many, but there were 12 SFUO demonstrators alone.

The quick and dirty on how the SPP affects post-secondary education

Some thoughts about the SPP and post-secondary education, the whole point this blog was created. It turns out no American PSE stakeholder had any real inkling about this, but a couple of Canadians shared their thoughts with Meaghan and me.

More to come, of course, in article form. These are straight transcripts.

Peter Julian, NDP MP (Burnaby-New Westminster, B.C):

It’s generally a privatization agenda. The essential aim is to, as the proponents of the SPP have been clear from the start, the essential component of the SPP is to maximize profits. How do you maximize profits in education? Well, you shift to private-sector, rather than public-sector funding. You increase tuition levels, you put students more and more in debt, you dig them deeper and deeper into a hole—then you make money off students.

If you can make a private-sector education profitable by increasing tuition fees, then you’ve made money off the student there. Secondly, when the student is carrying that debt load—the student loan—banks make money off the student there. It’s carried right along the cycle. It’s essentially a way of maximizing profits at the expense of the youngest, most vulnerable members of our society. There is no doubt that when you have an overall agenda that covers 300-400 areas—if we believe the words of the bureaucrats who actually are there to implement the SPP agenda—that they are areas that will profoundly touch the lives of students and encourage a kind of privatization of education that makes education inaccessible to middle-class students and poor students—unless they are willing to go heavily into debt.

Seamus Wolfe, SFUO VP University Affairs:

Fundamentally, it poses a threat to education on several fronts, the first being the SPP agenda is hell bent on privatizing anything it can. So public education as a right, as a system, is a target of the SPP. It’s written in there. It’s not the first target, but if we don’t join arms for our brothers and sisters who are the first targets, then nobody will be there when the target is turned to us. So that is fundamental.

There are also all the larger economic issues that are driving these agendas; the same issues that Our Campus back home is dealing with: the corporatization of our campus, of our public spaces, of our intellectual landscape. It’s being defined by these agendas that are being led by the largest corporations in the world. So yes, of course education [is threatened].

Ian Brannigan, SFUO activist:

The SPP, basically, is just a way for the U.S. to gain even more control over a lot of things. Post-secondary education in Canada, compared to the U.S., is not as high. We went to Loyola today, and without a scholarship or anything, you’re looking at paying $27,000 a year. And that’s just ridiculous. That’s worse than law school in Canada. I think if we bring more American values towards post-secondary education, we could be in a lot of trouble.

Our education is somewhat subsidized. But I think the government would decide to cut its funding towards education, and then we’d be fending for ourselves.

Aftermath: local thoughts about the SPP summit

Thoughts from an assortment of residents interviewed by the blog...

Robert McRaney, resident of the French Quarter:

Having it here is positive; we’re very encouraging about any multilateral cooperation that is extended between Mexico, Canada, and the United States. Certainly, we’re pro-Bush and his aggressive work to try and improve the economy of the United States. It has to include Mexico and Canada.

The conference is certainly a positive opportunity, and I hope something good comes of it. I have no idea what they are discussing. [The SPP] has got a lot of positive play, as far as I’m concerned; what little bit I read.

Steve Manning, bartender at the Golden Lantern in the French Quarter:

I know they are meeting in the city, yes. New Orleans needs money, so I am glad they are here. Everything has lasting effects; sure, it will have lasting effects. I’m not familiar with the politics.

Stan Garczynsai, organizer of an anti-SPP demonstration:

I knew Bush was coming to town, and I just had enough. He’s coming to our town; he’s already a complete failure to New Orleans, so just trying to get the people out. People have every right not to be happy with this current president. SPP ... is going to screw up the North American continent for many, many years, not just the next election. It’s going to carry over, and we need to get the word out—the people out.

People just aren’t very aware, because of confusion. People are trying to rebuild and live their lives here, and not get murdered, so they are more concerned with those things. There was not much of a social infrastructure before the storm, so now we’re starting with total grassroots. You’re witnessing it, my friend.

Martin Katz, sociology professor at New Orleans'-based Delgado Community College, on whether or not President Bush listens to student concerns:

No. I highly doubt it. He’s pretty much just concerned with his war, you know, and trying to get more money allotted to it. And his military bases that he’s trying to set up. At least there are people who aren’t happy. His 20-per-cent approval rating isn’t for nothing. It doesn’t get publicized here a lot, because our media [are] owned by eight corporations, and they decide what we do and don’t see. It really isn’t out there in the forefront. We talk about stuff like this.

Hometown activists call for peaceful assembly

There was a group of N.O.-based demonstrators that insisted that peaceful protests were a must -- no violence. When those from other cities (and countries) protested the SPP loudly, these N.O.-based people politely asked them to calm down.

Needless to say, some of the non-SFUO Canadians were a bit perturbed. But they all respected the wishes of the hometown crowd.

Lack of American presence not surprising

There have been some comments on the blog that are critical of Americans for not mobilizing more in light of President Bush's visit to, of all places, New Orleans to talk about "security" and "prosperity".

Fair enough. But keep this in mind. New Orleans is still a city in tatters, save for the most "important" commercial areas and those that were spared major flooding (French Quarter, in particular).

People in New Orleans just aren't thinking about protests. They are rebuilding their lives and are not getting much help. They likely couldn't care less about where Bush is at any particular moment, even if he is in their own town.

SFUO marches through the French Quarter

SPP negotiations wrapped up yesterday, but the SFUO wasn't finished criticizing Bush, Harper, Calderon, and the corporate leaders around the table.

Fat Cat Tuesday was the name given to a party in the streets that started in Jackson Square. About 30 people were banging on make-shift drums, playing a flute (awesome!), and dancing by the Mississippi River in an attempt to gather interested passersby.

By about 10 p.m., the crowd grew to 40 people, then 50 people, and a march began through the French Quarter. The so-called "snake march" wound its way through N.O.'s biggest party district, attracting smiles from onlookers.


Marchers passed out information sheets about the SPP and its faults.


Interestingly enough, this demonstration was one of the largest and loudest of the week. It was nowhere near violent. Drums, a flute, and drunk New Orleanians made for a happy atmosphere.


Members of the Council of Canadians, CUPE, and NDP MP Peter Julian joined the group of marchers as they wrapped it up on the north side of Jackson Square.

Blog temporarily dark

Energy levels are near zero.
I think I have food poisoning; a mild case, anyway.
So the blog is dark until later today.

There is/will be plenty to write about, though, and please stay tuned. Meaghan and I are sticking around in N.O. until tomorrow morning (a day later than planned) so that we can cover some more story lines today.

Also, we will probably go to the American WWII museum.
We deserve one sightseeing excursion, methinks.

Tulane shows solidarity with "Tibet"

This picture will demonstrate the necessity of those quotations.
In the Tulane Student Centre (well, Center, technically), whoops:

A couple of scenes from N.O.

A couple of N.O. photos from the archive of Meaghan Walton:




More N.O. scenes to come tomorrow, including from the Lower 9th ward.

The difference between uptown and downtown

Uptown (St. Charles Street)

Downtown (Canal Street)

SPP not so much of an issue for Americans: profs

After asking the Maroon for the location of Loyola's political science building, Meaghan and I made our way into the submarine-like structure and found a couple of professors willing to talk to us about the SPP, the summit, and post-Katrina stress.

Mary Troy Johnson (pictured left), a specialist in summits and European integration, didn't say much about the SPP (too busy to follow the issue closely). She did, however, suggest that many Americans don't think very much about the Partnership because they are more inward-looking when it comes to politics.

Just down the hall, Conrad Raabe (pictured right) was eager to talk to us about Canada-U.S. relations. Raabe has spent several years living in Ottawa, and he is a professor in comparative international relations.

Raabe's analysis was that Americans don't see Canadians as a separate state and often wonder why we don't join the union. Many Americans are unphased by this kind of integration, because to them, well, Canadians already are Americans.

"You sound like us, act like us, and look like us," he said.

SPP not so much of a student issue: report

Meaghan and I wandered into Loyola's student newspaper offices earlier this afternoon. We talked to a couple of Maroon staff about the SPP as a student issue.

According to incoming editor-in-chief Rachel Funel, the SPP is way off students' radar. She said that many were displaced by Katrina, herself included, and 20 per cent of students were unable to return to school after the hurricane.

The Maroon hasn't covered the SPP, because the local daily Times-Picayune has it covered.

The SPP's effect on communities

The People's Summit went into workshop-mode today, as SPP- and NAFTA-related seminars were held all around N.O.

At Loyola University's student centre, several workshops on the SPP combined into a single group that talked both broadly and specifically about the effects of the Partnership on Canada, the U.S., Mexico, and a number of constituency groups in all countries (e.g. the African American community).


A pair of volunteers provided simultaneous interpretation of the seminar, which was conducted in English and Spanish. There were about 45 attendees, including a large SFUO contingent.

Walton goes Internet

In other words, more pictures are available.

Meaghan has uploaded plenty of shots from the last two days in New Orleans to her PhotoShelter page. There is, of course, plenty to come tomorrow.

Jackson Square

As mentioned earlier, a demo is planned here tomorrow night sometime after 9 p.m.

This story in the Times-Picayune confirms what a police officer told us earlier, but I did not print on the blog because, well, I didn't understand its significance at the time:

Starting on Sunday, the NOPD will switch to 12-hour shifts, which will help divert some officers from districts around the city to the Central Business District area, said Assistant Superintendent Marlon Defillo. Those shifts will last through Tuesday.

The officer told us that these 12-hour shifts haven't yet been necessary, but there is still another day of Summit meetings.

This guy talked to us, too!

Xinhua reports:

Prior to the leaders' arrival, under the watch of police officers, a small number of protesters gathered in front of the hotel, chanting anti-summit slogans and waving placards that read: "No North American Union", "U.S. citizens say no to tyranny," etc.

"They (The leaders) are doing this without consulting with the American people," Thomas Anderson, a protester from Texas, told Xinhua, saying that they were calling for transparency from the meeting.

Anderson accused the leaders at the summit of ignoring the concerns of ordinary people and engaging in secrete discussions that violate the U.S. constitution and endanger the sovereignty of the United States.

See related post here for more information.

9/11 was an inside job, say protesters

Enough said.

A newly united group

After locating this group of marchers, the SFUO and civil society reps tried to decide what to do next. Some people sat in the street and politely left when police requested it.


After slowly working their way down the street with no planned destination, the groups eventually dispersed and the SFUO's contingent regrouped at the hostel.

Also worth noting, because I haven't yet done so on the blog, is that there are other Canadian students in N.O. There are a couple of people from Guelph, someone from Toronto, and another person from Peterborough. There might be more spread around.

After we lost the march from Washington Square Park...

Meaghan and I got caught up interviewing passersby on the street about the SPP, lost the march, and eventually met with a large chunk of the SFUO delegation.

As we walked towards the waterfront at Decatur Street, we ran into parts of the Canadian civil society contingent in New Orleans. The Council of Canadians' Maude Barlowe was among this group's members. Pictured are Barlowe (white blouse) and SFUO VP University Affairs Seamus Wolfe (right), who were waving their respective colleagues over to unite in a single group.

At Jackson Square, where there is a demo scheduled for tomorrow night at 9:30 p.m., the group was told by a pedestrian (I think) that protesters were seen marching west of Canal Street in N.O.'s central business district...

Washington Square Park

Anti-SPP demonstrators gathered in Washington Square Park today and hoped to march to Gallier Hall, where President Bush was scheduled to make an appearance.

Notably, no organization was involved in the planning of the event. It was a group of individuals who decided to work together in light of the New Orleans Summit.

About 40 people in the park listened to Delgado Community College sociology professor Martin Katz (pictured), who is a vocal critic of Bush, the war in Iraq, and neglect of New Orleans.

25-30 people then marched down the street.

N.O. police aren't worried, apparently

At a coffee shop today (this one, to be exact), Meaghan and I came upon a New Orleans police officer. We asked if it had been a busy day, what with the Summit and all, and she replied on behalf of all New Orleanians.

"Oh, we're too lazy to protest," she said. And then she bought a coffee.

Guns on ferries in N.O.

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard

A group of about a dozen students gathered for the 6th ward tour, and we met our first guide in Algiers, which is directly across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans.

On the ferry to the other side, two coast guard officers watched carefully. They were pretty friendly when talked to, but they clearly took their jobs seriously. One of them had a very large gun, and if I knew more about guns, I could tell you about it.

Once we met our guide, we waited for a ferry to take us back across the river. The same member of the U.S. Coast Guard, later re-joined by his partner, asked us for information about where we were going and what we were doing.

Our guide said nothing, and no one else did either. Why the silence? There is a committed group of activists in post-Katrina N.O. that are tackling primarily housing-related issues, and they have had all kinds of trouble with authorities looking to gain personal information. The bottom line: Don't talk to authorities unless necessary.

The situation at the dock might have been more intense had the officer demanded more information, but he ended up acknowledging that the tour, or whatever we represented in his eyes, was simply ensuring its "operational security". Keep in mind he had no idea what our purpose was.

The 6th Ward of N.O.

One of the first group activities of the week involved a tour of New Orleans' sixth ward, known as the first African-American neighbourhood in North America.

Tour guide Al Harris led a walking tour that highlighted the historical importance of the 6th ward to, among other things, the birth of the civil-rights movement.

Sites included:

- Louis Armstrong Park
- Backstreet Cultural Museum
- St. Augustine Church
- New Orleans African-American Museum of Art, Culture and History

Harris is above right in this picture taken outside of Louis Armstrong Park (white shirt).

Small correction on From the Right demo

The "From the Right" SPP protest was also against the partnership. Left and right agree. One Texan protester said that the SPP is a means by which the three North American governments will eventually become a single state. He referenced the creation and expansion of the European Union -- which started as a coal and steel partnership in the 1950s -- as essentially the same process.

He also had a creative banner.

SPP critics on the left and right

The Houston Chronicle reports:

The "Security and Prosperity Partnership," as the three call their shared agenda, has been met with alarm and anger by some, most prominently by CNN commentator Lou Dobbs, who argues that it's a first step toward a blended North American Union modeled on the European Union that will result in a loss of American sovereignty.

Bush, who has vigorously promoted trade and economic cooperation with his neighbors, last year dismissed such claims as "political scare tactics."

Voices on the left also oppose the alliance, claiming the leaders put the interests of business and trade before workers and the environment. A spate of protests are planned for New Orleans, including a shadow "people's summit."

Canadian civil society in N.O.

A list of Canadian NGO and union leaders attending the People's Summit:

Maude Barlow
National Chairperson, Council of Canadians

Dave Coles
National President, Communications, Energy and Paperworkers Union

Pierre-Yves Serinet
Réseau Québécois sur l'intégration continentale

Normand Pépin
Réseau Québécois sur l'intégration continentaleKen Neumann
National Director for Canada, United Steelworkers

Claude Genereux
National Secretary-Treasurer, Canadian Union of Public Employees

Rick Arnold
Common Frontiers

Colin Heslop
CAW-TCA National Director, Skilled Trades

A few more April 21 events

This is what's going on tomorrow (i.e. in a few hours) at the People's Summit:

9 a.m. -- Community Tour of New Orleans

Noon -- Opening Ceremony

Afternoon -- Workshops: Understanding who profits: NAFTA+ and Katrina profiteering

More info on April 21 events

A sampling of tomorrow's events, pending confirmation (some of these I have heard very few details about thus far):

8 a.m. -- Protest "From the Right", which I will assume is in opposition to SPP critics

3 p.m. -- Anti-SPP rally in Washington Square Park

Evening -- SFUO delegation will be walking around with information about the SPP

More details coming, of course...

Students on the move

We arrived at the India House hostel at just past 1 a.m., and found a huge group of students planning all kinds of activities for the next couple of days. My near-delirious state will not allow me to elaborate any further, but there are some interesting ideas being exchanged.

Way more on the blog tomorrow. Pictures, too.

Notes from the road to N.O.

I have absolutely no idea what is going on in New Orleans. A long trip on a bus does that, apparently. More updates from the city when we arrive tonight.

We were supposed to get in at about 6 p.m. CST, but re-routing has pushed that back until midnight.

Quick hits from Canadian and American regional media about the summit:

Toronto Star: NAFTA the hot tune for amigos' last dance
Canadian Press: New Orleans prepares for North American summit
Associated Press: Bush seeks to cement legacy of ties with Canada, Mexico

Georgia Straight
New Orleans Times-Picayune: Summit to shine spotlight on N.O.

Also, the 48-hour odyssey that is the bus ride to New Orleans has included:

- a string of identical bus stations that are nearly impossible to discern from each other; there is always one TV, and each station alternates between airing CNN and Fox News

- a rail convoy of military vehicles (Humvee, Armoured Personnel Carrier, etc.) in Jackson, MS

- Get this tag-line for a Marine Corps ad: "We don't make compromises. We make Marines."

This blog will be temporarily quiet...

The bus to New Orleans leaves tonight, and unless there is a Denny's with a WiFi hotspot somewhere along the line -- no posts until Sunday evening.

But if there is a Denny's, I will do two things:

a) Update the blog if necessary
b) Two words: Lumberjack Slam

Marxist-Leninists plan Sunday demo

From the U.S. Marxist Leninist Organization's website:

A demonstration is planned for Sunday expressing the unity of the workers of all three countries in fighting for the rights of all.

Travel down by plane, bus or train. Contribute funds for others to go. Contact us at office@usmlo.org. Join in to Support the People of New Orleans!

New Orleans police prepare for summit

AP reports that New Orleans police aren't worried about any protests at next week's summit. When it comes to crowd control, superintendent Warren Riley said, "We handle these situations better than anyone in the country." This is the city that hosts Mardi Gras every year, after all.

The same report refers to a December protest in the city:

Still, there are local tensions that officers will be on watch for -- among them simmering unhappiness about the City Council's decision last December to approve demolition of many large public housing complexes. A small group of protesters clashed with police as the council was debating on the issue. Police deployed chemical spray and Tasers and some arrests were made.

A New York Times story elaborated on the events:

Police officers on foot and horseback tried to keep protesters out of the council chambers once all the seats were filled. Demonstrators tried to push through some iron gates to get into the chambers when the police used what appeared to be pepper spray and stun guns; at least two demonstrators needed medical treatment.

There was also a brief fight inside the chambers and the police ejected some demonstrators. About 15 protesters were arrested, the police said, mostly on charges of disturbing the peace.

NAFTA criticized more in Canada than in U.S.

Dan Fisk, the senior director of Western hemisphere affairs for the U.S. National Security Council, said today that NAFTA "isn't broken" and has helped the economies of the U.S., Canada, and Mexico grow since it was signed 14 years ago.

According to an Associated Press report, Fisk said that critical statements made Democratic presidential contenders Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama "have made bigger headlines in Canada and Mexico than they have here [in the U.S.]."

Montebello controversy resurfaces

Almost eight months to the day after the last North American Leaders' Summit in Montebello, Que., the New Orleans edition will get underway.

But some critics of the SPP aren't letting go of the events at Montebello. The Communications, Energy, and Paperworkers Union (CEP) recently filed a complaint with the Sûreté du Québec Ethics Commissioner.

At a press conference on April 15, CEP President Dave Coles said he hoped that the complaint would shed light on the circumstances surrounding agent provocateurs that allegedly infiltrated the crowd of demonstrators. He also called on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to open a public inquiry into the matter.

As this YouTube video demonstrates, the agent provocateurs did not hide themselves very well. Coles is quite vocal on the recording.

Mexican Congress disrupted, Calderon trip approved

From the BBC:

A sit-in protest by leftist politicians over energy reform plans has forced Mexico's Congress to relocate for the first time in almost 20 years.

Lawmakers had to cram into conference rooms to press ahead with routine business on Tuesday.

Leftist MPs seized the podiums of both houses last week in protest at plans to ease limits on private involvement in the state oil giant, Pemex.

Among the routine business, according to the Herald Tribune:

Both houses voted to let [Mexican President Felipe] Calderon travel to the United States for an April 21-22 summit of North American leaders in New Orleans.

The House of Commons never voted for Stephen Harper's trip to the Gulf Coast. He is just going. But then again, the SFUO's Board of Administration never explicitly voted for this trip to New Orleans, either.

Rice and Bernier meet in pre-summit talks

On April 14, U.S. secretary of state Condoleeza Rice, Mexican foreign secretary Patricia Espinosa, and Canadian foreign affairs minister Maxime Bernier met, as they do regularly, to discuss trilateral issues. The three leaders also set the agenda for the New Orleans summit.

This is a transcript of the press conference held at the meeting's conclusion.

Rice and her counterparts used familiar language to describe the SPP. Rice said that it "has been a very useful mechanism for organizing the multifaceted work that Canada, the United States and Mexico undertake together, " and "it also has permitted the leaders to engage the public [and] the private sector and civil society through the North American Competitiveness Council."

That engagement with the NACC includes 30 corporations -- 10 from each partner country. Interestingly, the NDP has engaged the general public by holding hearings across Canada.

Bernier spoke about the SPP as well, but he quickly switched gears, talking about the importance of a free-trade deal with Colombia: " It is important for Colombia, it is important for Canadians, and we want to be sure that entrepreneurs from Colombia will be able to sell their goods to Canadians and vice versa.

Security and Prosperity: Food for Thought

The Canadian Left is almost universally opposed to the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) of North America, and one of the leading voices of resistance is the Ottawa-based Council of Canadians.

The Council is a sponsor of the New Orleans People's Summit, and it has been actively speaking against the SPP. The group published a report titled Not Counting Canadians that examined the public perception of the SPP, and it is backed up by a poll conducted by Environics that made headlines in various national media.

This is obviously one side of the story. More to come on the other side.