Security Pact: Perimeter Security

Montreal Gazette Dept: The shot in the arm NAFTA gave to Canadian exporters has been "substantially eroded," Grady warned in his paper, an erosion that could prove permanent, according to Montreal Gazette. The still-secret document is said to call for the development of joint facilities and programs and closer co-operation among police, security and military on both sides of the border. A protected perimeter is to include joint screening of people as well as cargo entering anywhere in Canada and the U.S. and by any means. Cyberspace and telecommunications will also be subject to joint monitoring and canadians have already spent billions of dollars harmonizing their policies on domestic security, travel and immigration and refugee regulations with U.S. policies. The cost of lost trade is mounting into the stratosphere. Post 9/11 Canada's exports, excluding forestry and energy, are more than 12 per cent below what they might have been had the U.S. not tightened up its borders. This is according to a study last year by Ottawa economist Patrick Grady. Grady also calculated that Canada's services exports are off by eight per cent, or $3.1 billion. Business issues, as important as they are, are only one side of the equation. On the other are questions of Canadian sovereignty, including the freedom for Canada to set its own policies, and the privacy of its citizens. From what is known, the proposed new security pact, called Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Competitiveness, calls for integration on a scale that could prove a step too far. As reported in the news.
@t immigration and refugee, canadian sovereignty