16 March 2009

Canada expects better border relations

This article is excerpted from the 16 March 2009 edition of “globeandmail.com”.

Barack Obama's arrival in the White House, coupled with harsh economic realities, may herald a new era in better Canada-U.S. co-operation on the border, security and the need for unhindered trade flows, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said today.

“I sense a real opportunity to strengthen our relationship” with the arrival of the Obama administration, he said in an interview at the start of the three-day visit to Washington that will include sessions with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder.

Although Canadian governments co-operated closely with the former Bush administration and never publicly complained about the imposition of tough new border crossing requirements in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, ministers in Ottawa have seized on the change in Washington to try and revisit a host of bilateral issues.

For Mr. Van Loan, those are “largely issues of border security ... where we have been unsuccessful for the past while,”….

Although the minister said he didn't expect any rollback on new U.S. requirements that both Canadian and American citizens carry passports - or passport equivalent documents - to cross land borders, …. he is hopeful that some other planned security requirements can be re-negotiated.

He also said the tough economic times make it even more important that both countries ensure that trade and the free flow of goods are not impeded by inefficient security measures.

Ms. Napolitano, a former Arizona governor, … has ordered a full review of her department's northern border security plans and proposals. There's a concerted Canadian effort to raise and revisit border issues while the new Homeland Security secretary is settling into her job….