Trudeau and Obama: border, trade among policy agreements

Submitted by admin on Mon, 03/28/2016 - 15:16

...Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Barack Obama announced a plethora of new agreements and policies [on March 10] in Washington...

The Border

Canadians travelling to the U.S. will be cleared by customs agents before crossing the border at more locations. The countries have agreed to expand pre-clearance to Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport and Quebec City’s Jean Lesage International Airport, as well as at train stations in Montreal and Vancouver. The U.S. already conducts pre-clearance operations at eight Canadian airports.

To deal with mistaken identities on no-fly lists and other border-related complaints, the countries have agreed to create a “Canada-U.S. Redress Working Group.” Some Canadian travellers, including children, who share similar names with people on security watch lists have encountered delays in travel.

Both countries have committed to implementing the final phase of a system for sharing basic biographic information on travellers entering a country by land or air, so it creates an exit record for the other country. So far the system has been limited to tracking third-party nationals and permanent residents of Canada and the United States. Full implementation is almost two years behind schedule. Some critics have raised privacy concerns.

Trade

Canadian and American government officials, business representatives and consumer groups will redouble efforts to synchronize safety requirements for everything from trains carrying crude oil to motor vehicles to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. Doing so, it’s hoped, will reduce red tape at the border. There was no indication how transparent such efforts will be.

International Trade Minister Chrystia Freeland and her U.S. counterpart have been given 100 days to come up with a plan to head off a new softwood lumber dispute.

There was no mention of the Keystone XL pipeline debate, and only passing mention of the auto industry and NAFTA. Rather, the leaders’ statement spoke glowingly about the Trans-Pacific Partnership, even though Trudeau insists he won’t sign on until the government has consulted Canadians...

This has been excerpted from 10 March 2016 edition of the Ottawa Citizen.