Posts Tagged ‘Department of Homeland Security’

June 11, 2012: Beyond the Border Updates

Monday, June 11th, 2012

When President Obama and Prime Minister Harper announced the Beyond the Border Action Plan last December, I said that opportunities for stakeholders to participate in the process and feedback from people who deal with the border every day would be integral to implementation. We need your views, and we expect you to hold our feet to the fire. Success depends on our willingness to hear what you have to say and act on it.

Over the past few weeks, the Action Plan has taken significant steps forward.

In February, I made an announcement at Montreal’s Trudeau Airport for one of the new NEXUS lanes we’ve created at several international airports. This is one of the most tangible achievements. Making it easier for trusted travelers and frequent travelers to cross the border will help reduce wait times and let U.S. and Canadian law enforcement focus resources on transit that needs more scrutiny.

On May 14, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano and Minister of Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Jason Kenney announced joint consultations with stakeholders on cross-border business. These consultations will gather input and ideas to facilitate cross border business travel. Secretary Napolitano attended the first joint consultation in Washington, and Minister Kenney attended a similar consultation in Toronto. Stakeholders who couldn’t attend either meeting can send comments to the Department of Homeland Security by email until June 15 at BeyondtheBorder@hq.dhs.gov.

On May 31, the U.S. and Canada announced that we have agreed to the mutual recognition of air cargo security. Cargo on passenger aircraft will be screened at the point of origin and will not need to be rescreened at the border or prior to upload in the other country. This will facilitate commerce across the border, improve the efficiency of screening, and reduce burdens on and costs to industry.

We are moving forward. Individual steps may not be flashy, but taken together, they will make a concrete difference in how goods and people move across the border. They will facilitate trade, encourage travel and create jobs in a time when all are very much needed.

More information about the entire Action Plan can be found on the Department of Homeland Security website at www.dhs.gov/beyond-the-border.

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Posted in June 2012 |

Halifax International Security Forum – Halifax, November 5-7, 2010

Wednesday, November 10th, 2010

This year’s Second Annual Halifax Security Forum was  a great event last year and it  was even better this year.

The moving force behind the event is Canadian Defense Minister Peter MacKay.  Minister MacKay and the German Marshall Fund — which is the sponsor — have assembled over 500 people from 44 countries to discuss global security issues ranging from how to protect against terrorism, to how to deal with problems of nuclear proliferation in Iran and elsewhere around the world, to the cyber security threat.  The tradition is to have a modicum of speechmaking and to have a series of panel discussions with questions from the audience.  I have learned a lot.

Many U.S. government officials are here, including: Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Michèle Flournoy, Commander of NORAD and Northcom Admiral James Winnefeld, and a Congressional Delegation including Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham, Barbara Mikulski, Jeanne Shaheen, Mark Udall, and Jeff Sessions.

It was very windy and stormy  in Halifax.  Not exactly Chamber of Commerce weather.  Because of the storms, the Congressional Delegation and Secretary Napolitano had to be diverted to Bangor, Maine where they spent the night.  But because they really wanted to attend they came here early on Saturday morning. Several of them spoke during the panels.

In addition — as is the tradition at events where leaders gather — there are “bilats at the margins” or in plain English, small private meetings between leaders from different countries.  We had several among a variety of members of the U.S. delegation and our Canadian hosts.  Particularly Minister MacKay.

We also went off to a panel arranged by my predecessor, Ambassador Gordon Giffin, Scotty Greenwood, and Colin Robertson of the Canadian American Business Council with Senator Shaheen to discuss issues of Canadian and American cooperation on energy and the environment.

DJ

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Posted in November 2010 |