December 03, 2007

"NAFTA Superhighway" confirmed by Manitoba government

On November 20, 2007, the Lieutenant-Governor of the Province of Manitoba, Canada (John Harvard) opened the session with his Speech from the Throne (gov.mb.ca/throne.html, cached), and in it he confirmed the existence of what he called a "Mid-Continent Trade Corridor". The only difference between that and the "NAFTA Superhighway" appears to be the name:

...In addition, Manitoba has been working with the Canadian government and state governments in the U.S. to protect and enhance our access to key trade markets. In response to U.S. border security measures, Manitoba will begin offering an enhanced driver’s licence as an affordable and secure form of identification for travelers. The new licence will be available in the fall of 2008.

Manitoba is also taking a major role in the development of a Mid-Continent Trade Corridor, connecting our northern Port of Churchill with trade markets throughout the central United States and Mexico. To advance the concept, an alliance has been built with business leaders and state and city governments spanning the entire length of the Corridor. When fully developed, the trade route will incorporate an "in-land port" in Winnipeg with pre-clearance for international shipping...

I wonder exactly what the NAU/NSH apologists will say now; will they pretend it's just an "interplanetary" conspiracy theory as Stephen Harper and George Bush did at the recent SPP summit?

The video here contains the part of the speech above, and juxtaposes it with excerpts from the SPP meeting.

12/08/07 UPDATE: Jerome Corsi picks up on this with "Canada openly proclaims NAFTA Superhighway/Readers bombard Newsweek with evidence after adverse story on Ron Paul":

A Destination-Winnipeg trade group website [destinationwinnipeg.ca/98] identifies the Mid-Continent Trade Corridor as "the northern gateway of this vast Corridor, a network of highways and railways linking the business community with cities to the south, through the U.S. and into Mexico."

The Canadian government's Canada Transport website [wd.gc.ca/mediacentre/1999/mar05-1a_e.asp] describes the Mid-Continent International Trade Corridor as a rail and highway network which stretches from Manitoba to Mexico...

"We have had that map with the NAFTA Superhighway on our website for 5 years or more," Jerry Bellikka, director of communications for the Alberta Ministry of Infrastructure and Transportation told WND in a telephone interview...

"No," Bellinkka answered directly [when asked whether they're going to get rid of the map on their site]. "We have no plan to change the designation of NAFTA Superhighway on our website."

Also see infratrans.gov.ab.ca/2760.htm and infratrans.gov.ab.ca/2766.htm

Posted to NAU at December 3, 2007 12:29 PM