The following is excerpted from 23 June 2013 article by the CBC News.
Canada-U.S. border co-operation under the much-ballyhooed Beyond the Border initiatives will not be derailed by the brawl that's erupted between Canadians and Americans on the 10-member board that oversees the Peace Bridge, Gary Doer [Canada's ambassador to the U.S.] said Sunday…
Doer was meeting with his American counterpart, David Jacobson, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo and John Prato, Canada's counsul general.
The four met for almost six hours on Saturday, poring over the issues that have caused lengthy delays in efforts to expand and modernize the Peace Bridge, which links Buffalo, N.Y. and Fort Erie, Ont.
They were continuing informal discussions on Sunday in the hopes of sealing a deal that could result in as much as US$180 million in construction at the bridge over the next few years.
The hands-on involvement of the top envoys is an indication of just how closely both the Canadian and U.S. governments are watching the discord on the Peace Bridge Authority, particularly in the wake of Beyond the Border, the landmark pact on border co-operation signed with much fanfare between Canada and the U.S. two years ago…
Cuomo's public comments following Saturday's meeting, meantime, suggest that a recent New York assembly bill to dissolve the 80-year-old authority isn't going anywhere. Canada has already obtained a legal opinion on the bill from a Buffalo law firm that determined the New York legislators have no power to disband it…
... he wants "Canada to know they have a fully engaged partner on the New York side — which, I think, for some years past, they haven't had."
In an era of supposedly harmonious Canada-U.S. border relations, however, a startling melee has erupted in recent months on the Peace Bridge Authority, made up of five Canadians and five Americans.
The war of words has included angry demands for ousters, bitter name-calling and public trash-talking…
In particular, Canadians on the authority have been outraged by American accusations that Canada has deliberately dragged its feet in favour of developing the Fort Erie, Ont., side of the crossing at the expense of the U.S. side.
In fact, Doer has said many of the biggest delays in modernizing the Peace Bridge have been due to American authorities and differing environmental regulations on each side of the border.
Doer said the Saturday meeting steered clear of delving into the tense relations on the board, which convenes on Friday in Fort Erie, Ont., for the first time in weeks…
Doer added it's hardly the first time there have been difficulties between the U.S. and Canada over border crossings, pointing, in particular, to the presidential permit that was required to get a new Detroit-Windsor bridge approved.
"This is not our first time at the bridge rodeo," he said.
This article is available in its entirety at: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2013/06/23/pol-cp-peace-bridge-dispute-will-not-derail-border-plan-gary-doer-says.html (subscription may be required.)