What is Atlantica?
Atlantica is an in-development "free trade" zone & transportation and energy corridor that encompasses all the Atlantic provinces, Quebec south of the St. Lawrence River, and the states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont and upstate New York. The design of Atlantica is to make the region more of a gateway for the delivery of massive amounts of energy and other commodities to the United States, and doing it all in a region with reduced environmental and labour standards.
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The concept of Atlantica was reportedly introduced by Atlantic Institute for Market Studies' (AIMS) president Brian Lee Crowley in a 2001 speech to the Atlantic Canadian premiers and New England Governors, but it has only been aggressively promoted since aproximately 2005. The proponents include AIMS, the Atlantic Provinces Chamber of Commerce (APCC), the Eastern Maine Development Corporation, and the largest corporations in the region, including Irving (NB-based), Emera (NS-based) and Cianbro (Maine-based). Governments have also lined up support, of course, without any consent of the people.
Proponents wish to make the existing port of Halifax a super port, bringing in giant post-panamex ships that are too big for the Panama Canal. These ships would be loaded full of cheap goods from Asia, moved through the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic and dumped at the Halifax port, as well as other ports in development (such as in Sydney, NS, and the Strait of Canso, NS). The goods would be trucked across the region and into the U.S. on massive truck trains, which could be as long as Boeing 737's and create danger for smaller vehicles on road.
The energy developments include several Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals in Nova Scotia (in Goldboro), New Brunswick (Saint John) and Maine (east coast). The tankers carrying the LNG from abroad will wreak havoc (see HERE) on local fishing communities and whale populations, and the whole operation has a very high explosion hazzard, which is why it was deined on the New York Coast. There are also plans for more uranium mining in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and more nulcear power production in New Brunswick, including a planned 100% for-export-to-the-U.S. nuclear plant, and a larger capacity oil refinery in Saint John. These are just some examples. The purpose of it all is to ensure energy "security" and "prosperity" for the U.S. and Atlantica is a doormat for it.
Regardless of how many of the big and messy development projects the proponents are able to push through, they aim to bring about reduced environmental and labour standards through it all. The proponents of Atlantica see the area as ripe for re-exploitation, having the potential to produce massive profits through lower environmental and labour standards that are present already, and can be driven down further.
Between the spring of 2006 and the summer of 2007, Atlantica proponents showed their cards on major areas they wished to make policy changes, which they detailed on their website, http://atlantica.org (note: this section was taken off due to controversy). They identified "public policy distress factors" (barriers to profits), which included "union density" and "minimum wage legislation". The proponents created a specific body, the Atlantica Council, to hack away at unwanted barrier to profits. At a 2007 Atlantica conference in Halifax, the APCC selected a several member "Atlantica Council". The week of the 2007 Atlantica conference, the Canadian Government anounced $588,000 in support of the Atlantica Council as a measure to show their support for the promotion of Atlantica. Further, on July 19, 2007, the APCC announced the appointment of Brent Sansom to the position of VP Atlantica, the PR man for the group. As described in a February 5, 2008 article in NB's Telegraph Journal: "Sansom and the council are working to improve transportation infrastructure and policy, reduce barriers to labour investment and trade and improve the economic condition of the region". More recently, at the 2008 New England governors and Eastern CAnadian Premiers meeting in Bar Harbour Maine (Sept 15 - 16), there were far more delegates from major corporations in the region, such as Emera and Irving, than there were government delgates. This was reported by independent journalist Hillary Lister. There was talk of trying to make decisions at a regional level rather than at the local level to avoid community protests.
Who would be so insidious to come up with such an exploitive, dirty project as Atlantica? The rich!
The bottom line is that Atlantica is nothing more than a very coordinated plan by the ruling class to extract as much profit through the region as possible. The region is given a particular role in the movement of global capital, that of a corridor. Most people -- the poor, working class people and indigenous -- will lose heavily through it all. That's why we're not meant to be anywhere near any discussions / meetings about Atlantica.
MORE INFO...
The concept of Atlantica was reportedly introduced by Atlantic Institute for Market Studies' (AIMS) president Brian Lee Crowley in a 2001 speech to the Atlantic Canadian premiers and New England Governors, but it has only been aggressively promoted since aproximately 2005. The proponents include AIMS, the Atlantic Provinces Chamber of Commerce (APCC), the Eastern Maine Development Corporation, and the largest corporations in the region, including Irving (NB-based), Emera (NS-based) and Cianbro (Maine-based). Governments have also lined up support, of course, without any consent of the people.
Proponents wish to make the existing port of Halifax a super port, bringing in giant post-panamex ships that are too big for the Panama Canal. These ships would be loaded full of cheap goods from Asia, moved through the Mediterranean, across the Atlantic and dumped at the Halifax port, as well as other ports in development (such as in Sydney, NS, and the Strait of Canso, NS). The goods would be trucked across the region and into the U.S. on massive truck trains, which could be as long as Boeing 737's and create danger for smaller vehicles on road.
The energy developments include several Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) terminals in Nova Scotia (in Goldboro), New Brunswick (Saint John) and Maine (east coast). The tankers carrying the LNG from abroad will wreak havoc (see HERE) on local fishing communities and whale populations, and the whole operation has a very high explosion hazzard, which is why it was deined on the New York Coast. There are also plans for more uranium mining in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick and more nulcear power production in New Brunswick, including a planned 100% for-export-to-the-U.S. nuclear plant, and a larger capacity oil refinery in Saint John. These are just some examples. The purpose of it all is to ensure energy "security" and "prosperity" for the U.S. and Atlantica is a doormat for it.
Regardless of how many of the big and messy development projects the proponents are able to push through, they aim to bring about reduced environmental and labour standards through it all. The proponents of Atlantica see the area as ripe for re-exploitation, having the potential to produce massive profits through lower environmental and labour standards that are present already, and can be driven down further.
Between the spring of 2006 and the summer of 2007, Atlantica proponents showed their cards on major areas they wished to make policy changes, which they detailed on their website, http://atlantica.org (note: this section was taken off due to controversy). They identified "public policy distress factors" (barriers to profits), which included "union density" and "minimum wage legislation". The proponents created a specific body, the Atlantica Council, to hack away at unwanted barrier to profits. At a 2007 Atlantica conference in Halifax, the APCC selected a several member "Atlantica Council". The week of the 2007 Atlantica conference, the Canadian Government anounced $588,000 in support of the Atlantica Council as a measure to show their support for the promotion of Atlantica. Further, on July 19, 2007, the APCC announced the appointment of Brent Sansom to the position of VP Atlantica, the PR man for the group. As described in a February 5, 2008 article in NB's Telegraph Journal: "Sansom and the council are working to improve transportation infrastructure and policy, reduce barriers to labour investment and trade and improve the economic condition of the region". More recently, at the 2008 New England governors and Eastern CAnadian Premiers meeting in Bar Harbour Maine (Sept 15 - 16), there were far more delegates from major corporations in the region, such as Emera and Irving, than there were government delgates. This was reported by independent journalist Hillary Lister. There was talk of trying to make decisions at a regional level rather than at the local level to avoid community protests.
Who would be so insidious to come up with such an exploitive, dirty project as Atlantica? The rich!
The bottom line is that Atlantica is nothing more than a very coordinated plan by the ruling class to extract as much profit through the region as possible. The region is given a particular role in the movement of global capital, that of a corridor. Most people -- the poor, working class people and indigenous -- will lose heavily through it all. That's why we're not meant to be anywhere near any discussions / meetings about Atlantica.
