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 News from Around the Americas | August 2007 
Protesters Converge on Montebello to Protest Summit
 CP
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 |  | I'm going because because nobody invited Maher Arar or the families of those next-of-kin who died trying to cross the border into the U.S.
- Sean Gauthier, protester |  | |
Ottawa - Angry anarchists and family-friendly activists converged on the posh Montebello resort in Quebec on Monday to protest the North American Leaders' Summit.
A few hundred protesters, some wearing anarchist red-and-black flags, left from Concordia University in downtown Montreal aboard a convoy of yellow school buses.
They carried signs condemning U.S. President George W. Bush as a war criminal and calling for an end to environmental destruction.
In Ottawa, more than 100 labour activists and others set out for Montebello aboard four buses for a "family-friendly" demonstration.
Prime Minister Stephen Harper is meeting with Bush and Mexican President Felipe Calderon to discuss trade, security and other issues.
Sources have told The Canadian Press that the leaders will wrap up their summit Tuesday with a call for a new border disaster protocol to avoid a repeat of the crippling tie-ups that occurred after 9-11.
Mandeep Dhillon, a spokeswoman for No One is Illegal, a group of immigration activists, said the aim of protesters is to disrupt the summit.
"The ultimate thing would be for this conference to be halted," she said in Montreal.
"I can't say who would be able to do this, but the walls that have been established in Montebello deserve to come down."
With police outnumbering protesters, it's unlikely anyone will get near the Chateau Montebello where the leaders are meeting. However, their activities will be relayed to the leaders by a video link.
"I have no idea what to expect," said protester Sean Gauthier, who was aboard the Montreal caravan.
"I'm going because because nobody invited Maher Arar or the families of those next-of-kin who died trying to cross the border into the U.S."
"I'm going because so many people weren't invited."
The final communique from the two-day summit will include an order from Harper, Bush and Calderon to their respective cabinet ministers to create new border regulations for emergencies, said sources in two countries.
They want to see rules on who and what would be allowed to cross North American borders amid crises like a terrorist attack or an outbreak of avian flu.
The move is the latest effort to increase security while allowing goods to flow freely, and stems from the chaotic aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the U.S.
The security clampdowns and protracted lineups six years ago cost the North American economy billions of dollars and, by some estimates, has since reduced Canadian exports to the U.S. by more than $10 billion.
The border announcement is one of several expected at the summit. The leaders also plan to announce that they will recognize the research of each country's food and drug regime in an effort to reduce costs and avoid duplication.
A Canada-Mexico deal is also brewing that would allow more Mexican migrant workers into Canada under an expanded program for agricultural labourers. U.S. Congress killed a similar attempt earlier this year to reach such an agreement between that country and Mexico.
Even before the summit began, it drew protests, including one Sunday that resulted in a commercial rail line being temporarily blocked in Montreal.
There are seemingly as many causes as protesters, who condemn the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the leaders' performance on the environment, the plight of aboriginals, and the human-rights abuses committed in the war on terror.
One common complaint echoed by all is the secrecy surrounding the meeting, which is to discuss the North American Security and Prosperity Partnership.
A group of powerful business executives has been invited to make a closed-door presentation Tuesday at the summit on changes they believe the continent needs. No such invitation was extended to scientists, environmentalists, or other social activists.
Critics say the security and prosperity partnership is anti-democratic.
Maude Barlow of the Council of Canadians said people shouldn't be fooled about who really sets the agenda at these summits: the 30 business leaders who sit on the North American Competitiveness Council.
The group comprises leaders from 10 companies in each country and includes corporations like Wal-Mart, General Electric and weapons-maker Lockheed Martin. They advise the three national governments on facilitating trade. |
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