17 March 2009

No need for border worries: Van Loan

The following is excerpted from the March 17th edition of the "Ottawa Citizen".

Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan on Monday said he's convinced early worries that the new Obama administration might impose new security measures at the Canada-U.S. border have been overblown.

At the start of a three-day visit to Washington, Van Loan said he's satisfied that a U.S. review of its northern border — ordered in January by Janet Napolitano, Homeland Security secretary — was simply a matter-of-course exercise by the department's new head to become familiar with her portfolio.

"What I thought was very positive about that is that she recognized that the northern border is very different (from the U.S.-Mexico border), that we have a very different situation," Van Loan said in an interview. "She does view us in a very different light . . . She very much understands the objective here is achieving security while facilitating trade."...

Van Loan said he always believed the U.S. border review "was simply a question of a new secretary of Homeland Security, who was very familiar with the southern border, trying to become familiar with how it worked on the northern border."

While he's in Washington, Van Loan will meet with Napolitano and U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. But he's also lined up visits with a range of key members of Congress, including Senator Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate homeland security committee, and Representative Jane Harman, chair of a House intelligence subcommittee.

"With the arrival of a new administration, there is an opportunity to build a stronger relationship," Van Loan said. "What I'm hoping for is that we can begin a process of looking for opportunities . . . that can facilitate trade while at the same time heightening our security and confidence in both directions."

As an example, Van Loan said Canada is interested on reopening talks with the Obama administration about opening U.S. customs pre-clearance facilities at Canadian land border crossings. The aim would be to allow trucks carrying goods to the U.S. to clear American customs before they arrive at the border, "the same way we pre-clear passengers at airports" in several Canadian cities. The idea went nowhere under the Bush administration...

The minister said he's also keen to talk to U.S. officials about shared concerns over the spike in violence along the Mexico-U.S. border, where rival drug gangs have been waging bloody battles for dominance.

The impact of the Mexican drug wars is being felt in Canada — particularly in cities like Vancouver — where police attribute recent gang violence to disputes caused by a disruption in supply from Mexico...