Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - November 2009
This month Canada and the U.S. have announced new and continued cooperation initiatives toward making the border safe from security threats, while still economically fruitful to both sides.
During their second formal meeting of the year, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Canada�s Minister of Public Safety Peter Van Loan discussed new ways in which to pursue their common security and economic goals, while also assessing their progress in targets set out at their previous meeting last spring.
�Close cooperation and coordination between the United States and Canada is critical to the national and economic security of both nations,� said Secretary Napolitano. �Minister Van Loan and I are committed to working together to combat transnational threats and facilitate lawful travel and trade on both sides of the border.�
Secretary Napolitano and Minister Van Loan outlined several detailed initiatives designed to assist in information-sharing between the two nations. Such initiatives include the streamlining of shipping so that importing and exporting are expedited for �trusted shippers� in the private sector.
The two governments are also working together to expand the NEXUS and Fast Card programs which allow for expedited border crossings for frequent, trustworthy business travelers. They have agreed to join with Australia and the United Kingdom in biometric information sharing to help monitor migrants. The two nations are also determined to closely monitor instances of money laundering as well as human trafficking along the Canada-U.S. border.
Secretary Napolitano and Minister Van Loan plan to meet again in approximately six months to measure progress and reassess and redefine goals as necessary.
Source: The Department of Homeland Security
