In recent years, it has become apparent that backroom deals are commonplace in our political process.  From campaign financing to Katrina profeteering, it is clear that our democratic rights to be engaged in decisions that will affect us as citizens are continuously being challenged.  The Security and Prosperity Partnership of North America is the latest in these affronts to our rights as citizens and residents of the United States of America.  

The heads of state of Canada, Mexico, and the United States (Harper, Calderón, and Bush) will meet in New Orleans April 21-22, 2008 to continue the process of forging agreements with input only from their appointed advisors and ministers and the corporate elite. These agreements will inevitably have a significant impact on citizens in all three countries.  

One wonders why New Orleans would be a place to hold such a meeting given the massive failures in the response of the U.S. government to meeting its citizen's needs in the aftermath of Katrina.  Yet, post-Katrina New Orleans serves as the perfect example of the type of system this process seeks to create.  

The People's Summit: Our Response to NAFTA Expansion seeks to create a space to connect the dots between post-Katrina profiteering and the SPP process focusing on the following: