U.S official predicts Canada to let them control northern border

[olpfan1]

Is this U.S official an idiot? does he not realize that Canadians would never accept American control of our border? I doubt the Americans would care too much if a Canadian were in charge of their northern border..they're not paranoid of us like we are of them ..what will happen if Canadians want to go to Cuba? are they going to discriminate and push us?

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/ottawa-notebook/us-official-predicts-norad-border-pact-with-canada/article2356680/

A top Homeland Security official says he believes the time will come when Canada and the United States have a joint organization to handle border controls – what he described as the “NORAD border.”

The North American Aerospace Defense Command is a unified U.S.-Canada effort to protect continental airspace. Headquartered in Colorado, it was first created during the Cold War to deal with the threat of missile- or bomber-borne nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union

The commander of NORAD, however, is always a United States officer while the deputy commander is always Canadian. The rotating duty shifts regularly put Canadians in operational command of North American airspace, such as when planes hit the World Trade Center on Sept. 11, 2001.

Alan Bersin, the assistant secretary of international affairs at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, was speaking to an Ottawa audience Friday about efforts to flesh out a recent perimeter security deal between Canada and the United States.

He’s also the department’s chief diplomatic officer and until recently served as the commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Mr. Bersin was asked if he foresaw the day when Ottawa and Washington could agree on a bi-national institution to handle border matters – one that preserved each country’s sovereignty but where one official was in charge, regardless of whether they were Canadian or American.

Mr. Bersin said both NORAD and co-operation over managing the St. Lawrence Seaway are both good examples of joint efforts between the two countries.

“We have to actually get back to that mentality,” the U.S. official said. “While it will take awhile – and while we develop mechanisms to respect sovereignty, but also recognize where it is we need to blend our energies – I believe that time will come.”

Mr. Bersin gave the business audience he was addressing an example of where he’d like the relationship to proceed.

“Why should we have separate admissibility processes into our countries if in fact North American security would suggest that a Canadian and a U.S. immigrations and customs official ought to be working together to clear people in Frankfurt who are coming into Canada, to clear them such that they would be able then to come seamlessly across [the joint border into] the United States.”

This will take effort, he warned.

“To say that is to show how far we have to get there: to build the NORAD border,” Mr. Bersin said. “But I think that is the vision that will drive this co-operation, recognizing there are many intermediate steps.”

Mr. Bersin declined to elaborate on his remarks following his address.

Edited March 2, 2012 by olpfan1

[Guest Peeves]

I would have no compunction over a joint security force over mutual borders, but not over Canada's sovereign border.

[bush_cheney2004]

I would have no compunction over a joint security force over mutual borders, but not over Canada's sovereign border.

Would agree with that, as the US can't/won't even police its own borders today, let alone dedicate resources to Canada's borders. The US would also end up paying for a larger share of the effort.

[Topaz]

Down the road the US and Canada as one, Harper singing the Beatles "Come together", with a little help from my friends.

[Guest Peeves]

Down the road the US and Canada as one, Harper singing the Beatles "Come together", with a little help from my friends.

Not gonna happen. Harper is a proud Canadian with a record of talking tough with our American neighbors and cousins.

I can't think of any country I'd rather share permanent borders with. They've been both friends and our guarantor.

[olpfan1]

Not gonna happen. Harper is a proud Canadian with a record of talking tough with our American neighbors and cousins.

I can't think of any country I'd rather share permanent borders with. They've been both friends and our guarantor.

Talking tough my ass!

If you haven't noticed what you see/hear is not what goes on behind the scenes with regards to the relationship of the US & Canada

[Sa'adoni]

3.

Provide interoperable radio capability for law enforcement actors.

Next Steps: We will implement a binational radio interoperability system between Canadian and U.S. border enforcement personnel to permit law enforcement agencies to coordinate effective binational investigations and timely responses to border incidents, while improving both officer and public safety.

Measuring Progress: The RCMP, Public Safety Canada, the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will fully implement this system within three years and will measure success through technical means such as system availability and user input and surveys.

That was 1 year ago, leaving 2 years before "full" implementation

nhance the Resiliency of Our Shared Critical and Cyber Infrastructure

Execute programs and develop joint products to enhance cross-border critical infrastructure protection and resilience.

Next Steps: We will implement the Canada-United States Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure, including by executing programs and developing joint products to enhance cross-border critical infrastructure protection and resilience. As part of this effort, we will conduct a regional resilience assessment program for the Maine-New Brunswick region, and create binational mechanisms for joint risk analysis, which will share information and develop joint analytic products.

Measuring Progress: The pilot regional resilience assessment program will be launched in 2011-12 and completed by December 31, 2013. We expect that the binational mechanisms for conducting joint risk analysis will be established by June 30, 2012. Public Safety Canada, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will report on implementation, including the number of joint or other products used in developing mitigation plans or addressing a capability gap, and the number of training sessions conducted.

Protect vital government and critical digital infrastructure of binational importance, and make cyberspace safer for all our citizens.

Next Steps: We will enhance our already strong bilateral cyber-security cooperation to better protect vital government and critical digital infrastructure and increase both countries' ability to respond jointly and effectively to cyber incidents. This will be achieved through joint projects and operational efforts, including joint briefings with the private sector and other stakeholders, and the enhancement of real-time information sharing between operation centres.

Measuring Progress: Public Safety Canada, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will report on joint or coordinated engagements with the private sector and external stakeholders, including joint briefings and presentations, assistance provided during the course of a cyber incident, and joint communications products that are developed.

Expand joint leadership on international cyber-security efforts.

Next Steps: We will strengthen cooperation on international cyber-security and Internet governance issues to promote prosperity, enhance security and preserve openness in our networked world. To achieve these goals, we will explore opportunities for improved engagement with third countries and in appropriate multilateral forums. Canada will accede in the coming months to the Council of Europe Convention on Cybercrime, and both countries also will explore opportunities to promote the Convention.

Measuring Progress: Public Safety Canada and the U.S. Department of State will report on the effectiveness of sharing cyber-security best practices, the number of engagements with third countries and how these efforts have translated into advancing Canadian-U.S. objectives on cyber issues in international forums.

Rapidly Respond to and Recover from Disasters and Emergencies on Either Side of the Border

Mitigate the impacts of disruptions on communities and the economy by managing traffic in the event of an emergency at affected border crossings.

Next Steps—Land Crossings: We commit to finalizing a guide that outlines best practices and considerations for border traffic management in the event of an emergency to support planning at individual border crossings. Building on this guide, officials will engage regional partners to support the development of regional cross-border plans and conduct exercises to ensure that these plans would be effective in the event of a disruption.

Next Steps—Maritime Commerce: We commit to collaborate at the regional level between countries to facilitate maritime commerce recovery following an emergency. This will be achieved by developing joint strategies, processes, or plans to facilitate the sharing of information and resources during emergencies, the dissemination of best practices and the development of clear lines of communication consistent with agreed information elements.

Measuring Progress: For land border crossings, Public Safety Canada, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will report annually on the percentage of priority border crossings that are covered by a regional plan and validated through an exercise.

Public Safety Canada, the Canada Border Services Agency, Transport Canada, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will work in the maritime commerce arena to establish or identify and leverage an existing joint Canadian-U.S. Pacific Region committee by January 31, 2012; develop preliminary planning guides, communications and information-sharing protocols by June 30, 2012; conduct a tabletop exercise to validate concepts and mechanisms by October 31, 2012, followed by adjustments to these instruments for use in other regions; report on results of the exercise and finalize a schedule of periodic reviews of concepts and processes in winter 2012-13; and establish or identify and leverage existing joint Canadian-U.S. Atlantic and Great Lakes committees by June 30, 2013, followed by implementation of validated plans and procedures.

Enhance our collective preparedness and response capacity for health security threats.

Next Steps: We commit to develop a set of measures to reduce the impacts of shared health-security risks. This initiative will be phased in over a period of two years, beginning with information-sharing to explore how each nation determines health security risk and concluding with an appropriate arrangement that records measures for effective cross-border collaboration. We will enhance preparedness and response capacity through a risk-based approach to planning, which will be supported by appropriate information-, personnel- and equipment-sharing arrangements and partnerships.

Measuring Progress: Public Safety Canada and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, in coordination with other health partners, will complete this work by summer 2013.

Establish binational plans and capabilities for emergency management, with a focus on chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives (CBRNE) events.

Next Steps: We commit to establishing two new working groups to jointly improve our ability to prepare for and respond to binational disasters. The first working group will focus on preventing, mitigating, preparing for, responding to and recovering from CBRNE events. It will:

Establish joint training opportunities and share lessons learned to enhance preparedness for, and response to, CBRNE events in both countries;

Establish bilateral information-exchange opportunities to share advancements in policies, plans, science and technology, and lessons learned;

Establish a strategy that can enhance bilateral interoperability for conducting CBRNE response; and

Develop a mutual-assistance CBRNE concept of operations.

The second working group will focus on cross-border interoperability as a means of harmonizing cross-border emergency communications efforts. It will pursue activities that promote the harmonization of the Canadian Multi-Agency Situational Awareness System with the U.S. Integrated Public Alert and Warning System to enable sharing of alert, warning and incident information to improve response coordination during binational disasters. Specifically, this working group will:

Coordinate national-level emergency communications plans and strategies;

Identify future trends and technologies related to communications interoperability;

Promote the use of standards in emergency communications;

Promote governance models and structures; and

Share best practices and lessons learned.

Measuring Progress: Public Safety Canada, the U.S. Department of State and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will establish the working groups that will develop work plans and validation metrics by October 30, 2012. They will validate their bilateral efforts within a five-year period.

Top of page

Edited March 5, 2012 by Sa'adoni