Border

Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Tuesday, April 23, 2013By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Anger over proposed fee for Canadians entering U.S.

A proposal to charge travellers a fee for entering the U.S. by land has sparked anger in both countries, with opponents citing fears it will hinder border crossings and hurt the economy.

The proposal to study the new fee is included in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s 2014 budget.

In its proposal, the department urges a study examining the effect of collecting a crossing fee for both pedestrians and passenger vehicles along the Canadian and Mexican borders. Proponents say the fee is being considered as a way to cover increasing security costs.

U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Jacobson explained the study to reporters on Monday.

“There’s a proposal for some money for a study. We’ll wait to see what happens,” he said.

But opponents of the proposed fee already lashed out against it on Monday, saying it will complicate trade between the U.S. and Canada. It is estimated that nearly $1.6 billion in trade takes place every day along the U.S.-Canada border.

The Department of Foreign Affairs said it would “vigorously lobby” against the proposal. The Canadian Chamber of Commerce called the fee a “serious mistake” and promised to fight it.
Chamber President Perrin Beatty told CTV News Channel the proposed fee unfairly punishes travellers. “The decision they’ve made is to study sticking it to the beleaguered traveller one more time,” Beatty said.

He said that if the fee is being used to cover security costs, it should be paid from general tax revenue and not charged to travellers. (Source: CTV News)

Thursday December 8, 2011

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator - Thursday December 8, 2011 Canada-U.S. border agreement signed Amid the manifold distractions of an American presidential election year, much of the perimeter-security agreement between the United States and Canada, announced by Stephen Harper and Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday, may be difficult to implement promptly. But one important element of the agreement that is directly connected to security Ð the sharing of data on who has entered or exited one of the two countries Ð ought to be put into effect, sooner rather than later. The Americans have a particularly well-founded eagerness to prevent the entry of terrorists into their country Ð and of more ordinary criminals, too. Consequently, the U.S. government was resolved to include the entry-exit system in the border agreement. In fact, terrorists have never favoured the Canadian border as an entry point into the U.S. But the data sharing will be valuable to Canada, too, not only for its own security, but also on other matters. At present, the federal government knows little about departures from Canada that affect the functioning of the immigration system. For one thing, there is no reliable way of knowing whether unsuccessful refugee claimants have done the right thing and left the country, or whether they have continued to live in Canada, hoping to avoid deportation Ð an outcome for which the odds are good. As for permanent residents of Canada who wish to become citizens, the government has no way of verifying whether they have stayed in the country for the required amount of time. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a significant number of citizenship applicants have had a tenuous presence in Canada Ð that they have not truly settled here and put down roots. The new system will be a great help to Canada in keeping track of all this. (Source: Globe & Mail) http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-debate/editorials/canada-us-border-agreement-a-good-thing/article418

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday December 8, 2011

Canada-U.S. border agreement signed

Amid the manifold distractions of an American presidential election year, much of the perimeter-security agreement between the United States and Canada, announced by Stephen Harper and Barack Obama in Washington on Wednesday, may be difficult to implement promptly. But one important element of the agreement that is directly connected to security – the sharing of data on who has entered or exited one of the two countries – ought to be put into effect, sooner rather than later.

The Americans have a particularly well-founded eagerness to prevent the entry of terrorists into their country – and of more ordinary criminals, too. Consequently, the U.S. government was resolved to include the entry-exit system in the border agreement. In fact, terrorists have never favoured the Canadian border as an entry point into the U.S. But the data sharing will be valuable to Canada, too, not only for its own security, but also on other matters.

At present, the federal government knows little about departures from Canada that affect the functioning of the immigration system. For one thing, there is no reliable way of knowing whether unsuccessful refugee claimants have done the right thing and left the country, or whether they have continued to live in Canada, hoping to avoid deportation – an outcome for which the odds are good.

As for permanent residents of Canada who wish to become citizens, the government has no way of verifying whether they have stayed in the country for the required amount of time. Anecdotal evidence suggests that a significant number of citizenship applicants have had a tenuous presence in Canada – that they have not truly settled here and put down roots. The new system will be a great help to Canada in keeping track of all this. (Source: Globe & Mail)

 

Wednesday December 7, 2005

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Wednesday December 7, 2005

U.S. to cut softwood duties almost in half

Canadian officials are cheering a move by the U.S. Commerce Department to chop softwood lumber duties by almost 50 per cent.The Commerce Department set the new rates on Tuesday, settling on average payments of 10.81 per cent.

That figure is a considerable drop from the current average payment of 20.15 per cent.

“This is a very positive step forward as Canada fights to have the illegal duties reduced to zero,” John Allan, president of the B.C. Lumber Trade Council, told the Canadian Press.

The softwood dispute has been the main trade irritant between Canada and the U.S.

The U.S. believes Canada improperly subsidizes softwood production because most U.S. timber is harvested from private land at market prices, while in Canada the wood is mostly cut on Crown land.

The U.S. government has collected about $5 billion in duties on Canadian softwood exports to the U.S. since the tariffs were introduced in May 2002. (Source: CBC)