THE NORTH AMERICAN UNION

The "United States of Canada" map making the rounds may be more true than you think:

WASHINGTON – North American national borders would be virtually eliminated under plans being considered by senior business and political leaders from Canada, the United States and Mexico for a "NAFTA-plus," continent-wide, customs-free zone with a common approach to trade, energy, immigration, law enforcement and security.

A tri-national task force, chaired by former Liberal Party deputy prime minister John Manley, with the full backing of all three governments, is plotting the roadmap for this new, bolder alliance meant to compete with the European Union. William Weld, former governor of Massachusetts and Pedro Aspe, former Mexican finance minister, join Manley on the panel that reports directly to the Council on Foreign Relations.

The mission has the formal blessing of Tom Ridge, U.S. Homeland Security secretary, who is close with President Bush.

The committee is scheduled to issue its report next spring.

The elimination of borders along the lines of the EU experiment seems to be high on the agenda of the panel.

"I think we've had 11 years of incrementalism, and during that time we've seen the EU expand its borders, eliminate borders among (member) countries and launch a common currency," explains Manley in the diplomatic magazine Embassy. "We're going to have to provide a vision that is more bold than incrementalism. What's the choice? Europe has made enormous steps in the years since NAFTA was signed. China has been going through a transformative process. In Canada, our only leverage is access to the U.S. market. If we're not going to develop and pursue how we use our advantage of location to be the foundation for future prosperity, then we are going to have to figure out another vision."

The "NAFTA-plus" plan has also been referred to as "deep integration." Skeptics see it as a plan to eliminate national sovereignty and erode the American concept of representative government accountable to the people under the framework of the Constitution.

Count me as one of the skeptics. Actually, I'm not at all skeptical that a North American Union will happen, in fact I think it's very probable in the next 20-25 years. There's a reason neither Democrats nor Republicans are serious about mass illegal immigration from Mexico in the face of overwhelming public opposition. It's all about back-room deals with multinational lobbyists. This is simply a case of the powerful knowing better than the hoi polloi and their being in a position to force us to accept it. They know at some point we're just going to have to stop resisting the inevitable and embrace the new reality. We can just pretend that the NAU is going to be "more secure and fair" if it makes us feel better.

What I'm skeptical about though is the Constitution of the U.S. surviving the transition. It can't even survive the modern liberal SCOTUS telling us how we must ditch the sovereignty fixation and rely on international trends. Just as with the new EU, the first thing to be eliminated in a NAU Constitution will be any mention of God. Oh, and we would get Canada's totalitarian hate speech codes dominating the law, so those currently living in "Jesusland" will be out of luck if they try to protest the NAU, the NAU Constitution or anything else.

Cut to 2029 in NAU public school classrooms: "So instead of an arrogant nation of dumb welfare Red States ruling over isolated Blue Enclaves of intelligence and creativity we now have a shrinking Red Enclave in a beautiful Blue Continent. And that's the history of how the evil Red State Rulers were defeated by the forces of the Blue Enclave Elite."

MORE: Should Canada Indict President Bush?

When U.S. President George W. Bush arrives in Ottawa — probably later this year — should he be welcomed? Or should he be charged with war crimes?

It's an interesting question. On the face of it, Bush seems a perfect candidate for prosecution under Canada's Crimes against Humanity and War Crimes Act.

This act was passed in 2000 to bring Canada's ineffectual laws in line with the rules of the new International Criminal Court. While never tested, it lays out sweeping categories under which a foreign leader like Bush could face arrest.

We may want to ask Arlen Specter what he thinks.

UPDATE: More from the Canadians:

OTTAWA - Renegade Liberal MP Carolyn Parrish has once again enraged members of the opposition and her own caucus after tossing a George W. Bush doll on the floor and grinding it under her heel on a satirical television show.

Incensed Conservative MPs demanded that Ms. Parrish -- who last year referred to Americans as "bastards" and more recently likened the U.S. war effort in Iraq to "a coalition of the idiots" -- be banished from the Liberal caucus for her anti-American outburst.