Excerpted from National Post December 9, 2010 Pact with US to create N.American ‘perimeter’ BY JOHN IVISON
Colin Robertson, a senior research fellow with the Canadian Defence and Foreign Affairs Institute, said the agreement is an attempt by the Canadian government to link security to improved access to the United States for Canadians.
“‘Perimeter’ is a vital word because back in the Chrétien government days we couldn’t use it because we would get caught up in the sovereignty allergy we too often have,” he said. “It makes a lot of sense.”
Mr. Robertson said that increased integration could impact areas such as immigration and refugee policy, but was unlikely to lead to a European Union-style agreement. “Economic union would mean a common currency and, over the last couple of years, it has been definitively proven that we are far better off with our own currency,” he said.