A border crossing in the Thousands Island. Photo: Brian Mann
(12/08/11) Canadian Prime minister Stephen Harper says the border security deal unveiled yesterday in Washington DC is the biggest step forward in trade with the US since the North American Free Trade Agreement was penned in the 1990s.
The deal is designed to streamline border crossings and synchronize the way both nations track people seeking to immigrate to North America.
During
Wednesday's summit, President Obama spoke warmly of his relationship with
Harper and about ties between the two countries.
“In Stephen I’ve got a trusted partner and I think
he’ll agree that perhaps no two nations match up more closely together, or are
woven together more deeply—economically, culturally— than the United States
and Canada.”
President
Obama pointed out that Canada is America's largest single trade partner, and
also the biggest foreign investor in companies here in the US.
But
he said both countries have to modernize the border in order to build
prosperity.
“Because of old systems and heavy congestion, it
still takes too many products too long to cross our borders; and for every
business, either Canadian or American, time is money,” Obama says.
This
deal would increase cooperation between immigration, law enforcement and
intelligence services in both countries.
Prime
Minister Harper argued that it will reverse a trend toward stiffening the
US-Canada border that began after 9/11:
“Measures
to deal with criminal and terrorist threats can thicken the border, hindering
our efforts to create jobs and growth. Today our two governments are taking
practical steps to reverse that direction. We are agreed, for example, that the
best place to deal with trouble is at the continental perimeter.”
During
their talk, the two leaders also spoke about the war in Afghanistan, where
Canadian troops have served alongside US service-members. And they talked
about a controversial pipeline project that would funnel Canadian oil to
consumers in the US.
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