PRESS STATEMENT FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASETri-national meeting of Harper, Bush, and Calderon in Montebello, Quebec(Ottawa, Montreal, Mexico City and Washington- August 17, 2007) – On August 20-21, US President Bush and Mexican President Calderon join Canadian Prime Minister Harper to push forward the "Security and Prosperity Partnership" (SPP), a business-led NAFTA plus agenda. The three heads-of-state will meet at the Chateau Montebello behind a massive security cordon that is meant to keep the public away. However corporate CEOs, members of the North American Competitiveness Council (NACC) will be on hand offering direct input into these talks. The Council’s 10 Canadian members were appointed in June 2006 by Prime Minister Harper and given privileged access to government Ministers to push their corporate vision for continental ‘integration’.An alliance of citizen’s groups in the three North American countries has challenged not only the agenda of this leaders’ meeting but also the secrecy which surrounds the ongoing SPP discussions. << The Canadian Council of Chief Executives (CCCE) and the Competitiveness Council (NACC) which it serves advise top government officials, but the public is not granted access to these decision makers,>> comments Rick Arnold of Common Frontiers, a Canadian network of union, church, environment, international development and student organizations.<<Given that the future of North America is under discussion, our government should be listening to the public and not just to a few profit-motivated corporate CEOs.>>read more