How Canadians and Americans feel about the continental security perimeter.
It's been understandably lost in the headlines pouring from the Middle East, but the U.S. and Canada have embarked on talks about creating a "conintental security perimeter" that would shift the emphasis from stopping threats from moving between the two countries to impeding threats before they reached North America. The Globe and Mail gives a short overview:
'The agreement is big on promises, although short of specifics. It said the two sides would work â??together within, at, and away from the borders of our two countriesâ? to toughen security and promote trade.This could, for example, include creating a single border surveillance agency that transmits data on people entering the United States or Canada to both countries. It could mean joint pre-screening of cargo in European ports before it is sent to North America, or the ability to clear a container from abroad when it arrives in Halifax and send it to the United States without a border check there.
As well, a new agency called the United States-Canada Regulatory Co-operation Council (RCC), composed of officials from both countries, would seek to streamline regulations governing product safety and quality, making it easier to make goods in one country and sell them in the other.
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The perimeter talks haven't evoked much debate south of the border, but in Canada, its critics are complaining about a loss of sovereignty. Still, the idea seems to have the support of both Canadian and American publics. A new survey from Angus Reid shows a majority of Americans and a majority of Canadians want the perimeter initiative to move forward:
'When asked about the recent meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama to discuss the establishment of a North American security and trade perimeter, half of Canadian respondents (52%) say they support the idea, while 17 per cent oppose it. Three-in-five Americans (59%) support the perimeter while nearly a third (31%) are undecided. Support for the perimeter is highest among men (66% U.S. and 60% Canada) and those over 55 years of age (64% U.S. and 60% Canada).'