From CTV Harper, Obama set to kick off border security talks February 3, 2011
Colin Robertson, a former Canadian diplomat who has been consulting with government officials on the issue of border security, was less than optimistic about prospects for the negotiations.
“They want as much as we can give them, and we’re not going to give them as much as they want,” Robertson told The Canadian Press.
Regarding the summit delays, Homeland Security “wanted access to all migration records and a whole bunch of other stuff” but Canadian officials refused, he said.
“It’s been resolved sufficiently enough for us to move forward,” Robertson added.
Harper and Obama will set about trying to forge an agreement where their predecessors have failed, by attempting to strike a balance between the need to protect against terrorist threats and speed up cross-border trade.
From Winnipeg Free Press February 3, 2011
Harper-Obama “perimeter” border summit faces sovereignty speed bumps
By: Mike Blanchfield and Jim Bronskill, The Canadian Press
Despite the obstacles, Harper and Obama will formally kick off the negotiations Friday for a new, vaunted border framework in Washington.
“They want as much as we can give them, and we’re not going to give them as much as they want,” said Colin Robertson, the former Canadian diplomat who has been consulting with the Harper government on the issue.
Privacy commissioner Jennifer Stoddart has not been consulted on the perimeter-security initiative, said her spokeswoman Anne-Marie Hayden.
She said the office would be “watching with great interest” and will be “examining the situation thoroughly to ensure that privacy considerations are taken into account.”
Harper and Obama will try to succeed where others have failed in the last decade — balancing the security imperative of preventing another major terrorist strike against an ever-thickening border that is slowing trade and commerce.
The two leaders are expected to announce their goal is to get a deal before the end of the year.
It would formally entrench joint operations on intelligence, law enforcement and migration, while allowing the unfettered flow of goods, people and services across the 49th parallel.
This latest attempt to open the border has been fraught with behind-the-scene delays because Homeland Security has demanded detailed travel data from Canada — information about who is exiting and arriving in the country, and who is merely passing through our airspace on flights.
“Homeland Security wanted access to all migration records and a whole bunch of other stuff. We said No,” Robertson said in an interview.
“It’s been resolved sufficiently enough for us to move forward.”