Posted on 05/29/2009 11:27:34 AM PDT by BGHater
Canada and the U.S. signed an agreement Monday designed to increase border security by allowing the RCMP and the U.S. Coast Guard to team up and ride in each others' vessels during border patrols.
Known as the Shiprider program, the new rules intend to improve security and eliminate jurisdictional grey areas in Canada-U.S. waterways. Without the new program, vessels must stop at the border and call upon the other country's officials for help.
The Shiprider program has been used as a pilot program over the past few years to catch smugglers and criminals on joint waterways.
Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan and his U.S. counterpart, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, signed the agreement Tuesday at a cargo facility at the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, Ont.
Van Loan said the pact shouldn't be viewed as Americans encroaching on the jurisdiction of Canada because it's a joint effort between both countries.
And he stressed that security and trade between the two countries can be mutually beneficial.
"Because of the integration of our North American economies ... effective management of the border is essential to the health of both of our countries' economies," said Van Loan.
Talks between the two officials are set to continue this week in advance of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which comes into effect June 1. The initiative means Canadians will need to show their passports, NEXUS cards or enhanced driver's licences when entering the U.S.
Napolitano, who stirred controversy a few weeks ago when she suggested the 9-11 terrorists entered the U.S. through Canada, said the U.S. wants to partner with Ottawa to ensure the safety of the continent.
(Excerpt) Read more at ctv.ca ...
"You will have Canadian authorities aboard American boats, going into American waters, and the reverse coming into Canadian waters."'
'Because of the integration of our North American economies ... '
I think this is good..
My son-in-law patrols the Great Lakes out of Sector Buffalo.
Old news. When I was still living in Vancouver, there was a big stink almost every year when the local papers published stories that the FBI, NYPD and even the Texas Rangers were on canadian soil going after the bad guys.
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