A North American Community? It Would Be a Good Idea!

Author: 
Julián Castro-Rea, University of Alberta
Publisher: 
CONAHEC
Year of Publication: 
2002

NAFTA was created under the assumptions that all participant countries are equal and that market mechanisms will bring the benefits of integration to everyone. Nine years later, evidence shows that disparities in political power and economic strength do matter, and the market is unable to make these differences disappear. Regional, sectorial, social, cultural, ideological, and linguistic inequalities deepen as uneven integration unfolds. The presenter will address the dark spots of the integration process in North America in the context of enhanced U.S. unilateralism, focusing on the North American Common Market for Energy and its prospects for overall welfare and the environment.

Event Information
Event Title: 
CONAHEC's 8th North American Higher Education Conference - Calgary 2002
Event Description: 

Leaders and practitioners of higher education, business, government and students gathered in Calgary, Canada for the VIII North American Higher Education Conference. Conference participants worked together to shape the collaborative agenda in North American higher education. The outcomes of prior efforts since "Wingspread", the first trinational education gathering in 1992 were reviewed. Strategies to meet the challenges for the next decade were developed which became became CONAHEC's Calgary 2002 Recommendations.  These recommendations still influence the strategic direction of the organization to this day.