The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
Canada and the United States enjoy a special relationship developed through the long history of family, friends, and visitors who live on both sides of the border. However, this unique relationship is at risk, along with the benefits that come from the largest bilateral trading relationship in the world that sees $1.5-billion (U.S.) in two-way trade cross the border each day. Much has been said about the ÔthickeningÕ of the Canada-U.S. border Ð the layering of costs and wait times associated with people and goods crossing our shared border Ð but more must be done. Both Canadian and U.S. businesses are sounding the alarm about the escalation of these costs, and about how they are squeezing North American companies, and endangering investment. This is not an academic discussion Ð 7.1 million jobs in the United States and three million jobs in Canada are a direct result of the integration of the Canada-U.S. economies. These 10 million taxpayers and their families depend on our governments getting the border right. While it is not surprising that the post-9/11 environment has resulted in tightened security, there is an alarming number of additional fees, inspections, security measures and a lack of coordination that are driving up the costs of cross-border movement of legitimate people and goods. All of this attacks the foundation of our integrated economies, and not only are we working against our own interests, but we are doing it at the worst possible time. The dramatic rise in global competition urgently requires a U.S.-Canada border that is both secure and trade efficient. In a recent coalition report, Finding the Balance: Reducing Border Costs While Strengthening Security, 45 Canadian and U.S. business associations, led by the Canadian and U.S. Chambers of Commerce, called for specific near-term measures to reduce border-related costs and burdensome border requirements and to facilitate the movement of legitimate people and goods. Prime Minister Stephen Harper recently joined U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Felipe de Jesus Calderon in New Orleans for the annual leadersÕ summit. The summit provides a venue for the Canadian and U.S. governments to step forward with commitments to deal with this serious border problem and strengthen not only the Canada-U.S. relationship but also the ability for North American companies to keep these jobs at home.
