This panel discussed the joint law enfrocement efforts and other regulatory programs, and touted the growing coordination between Canada and the United States and how the Beyond the Border Imitative can build upon these accomplishments.
Chaired by David Crane, Toronto Star
Theresa Brown, Sentinel HS
Anne McLellan, PC, QC, Bennett Jones
Andrew Sugimoto, U.S. Coast Guard
David Crane Introduction: Shared Interests, But Still Important National Differences
David Crane opened the session pointing a an important theme in understanding cross-border law enforcement between Canada and the United States: the two countries both recognize the same security interests, but that the nations do have different values and institutions. This leads to an interesting outcome: shared interests between two seemingly similar countries still face challenges when dealing with one of the world's largest borders, especially in the aftermath of 9/11 that (a) showed the need of collaboration but (b) showed differences in how nations wanted to treat the border.
In closing, Crane brought up two key points. First, that this panel succeeded in bringing together three key parts of border issues: (1) policy makers, (2) bureaucratic implementers, and (3) the individuals actually engaged with law enforcement on the ground. Second, he noted that integration between Canada and the United States is being pulled not from above--on the policy-makers end--but rather from the officers on the ground who, working together, and now pushing policy-makers to push cross-border integration further.
Hon. A. Anne McLellan: BTB Initiative Is The Right Direction, But We Need to Focus on How to Build Support Among Both Countries' Citizens
While nothing that the cross-border law enforcement section of the BTB Initiative Former Parliamentarian and Deputy Prime Minster Anne McLellan touted the Beyond the Border Initiative, heralding it as "absolutely the right direction" and seeing it as a evolutionary step.
Among McLellan's many thoughtful comments, three bear particular mention.
First, McLellan made clear that the Initiative shows that the countries are moving past cooperation and collaboration, but now to integration. The poster-child of integration: the Shiprider Program that has U.S. Coast Guard personnel and RCMP working together on the same boats on the Great Lakes to enforce each nation's laws.
She also pointed out that for the operators on the ground doing cross-border law enforcement, the primary issue is not terrorism but rather the "bread and butter" issues of counterfeiting, human smuggling, contraband goods, and firearms. Stemming from this, McLellan believes that the additional work that is needed to see these regulatory reforms to stick is one of salesmanship: while in the U.S. such reforms may only be sold as anti-terrorism measures, the Canadian public is much more amendable to cross-border legal integration.
Third, one of the key breakthroughs of the BB Initiative is the clear incorporation of risk management into the document. McLellan pointed out that the 'zero risk' goal of the United States after 9/11 posed challenges to cross-border integration, but now that the joint framework has countries now engaged in managing risks and making the tough decisions, is the key to securing both countries. What has yet to be seen? That this approach will be operationalized in ways that make ways in both countries, that is essential the the BTB Initiative's success.
Question Updates:
(1) One issue that needs to be addressed, the exit-entry political debate in Canada.
(2) McLellan also shows the Canadian frustration with U.S. policymaker statements that seek to treat America's northern and southern border the same. The answer: we need to deal with these borders separately. Quick sidenote: And the U.S. Ambassador made clear that the United States don't view the two borders the same.
(3) BTB needs political support to complete, and must be seen in view of the Canadian public that doesn't see in pursuing these changes--especially with 9/11 now occurring over a decade ago.
Theresa C. Brown: The BTB Initiative Represents a Big Step Forward
Former DHS Attache of the United Stats in Ottawa (2008-11) and now Director of The Sentinel HS Group, LLC, Theresa C. Brown brought the viewpoint of the bureaucrat who has to implement cross border regulations. She gave six lessons from her work implementing cross-border regulations. Central to her insights was her work in ensuring that law enforcement officers can do there jobs; but to do so, we must make sure they are operating under proper legal authority and know the scope of their duties. If joint border efforts don't put emphasis on the middle-level bureaucrats who must interpret policy-shifts into clear law and regulations so that (1) law enforcement officers can do there work with (2) going beyond their legal mandate which can cause headaches in both countries, and cause integration to backslide.
First, both countries--after 9/11--needed to work together in identifying how they judged risk. And what the BTB Initiative now brings both countries together in how they formulate risk.
Second, BTB Initiative has taken both nations' cooperation agreements beyond 'vague statements of intent.' While such language might be a political necessity, it simply pushes tough decision to the bureaucratic who have to make figure out how to interpret broad language. This then pushes disputes downward, away from policy makers who have the authority to bridge these differences. The great breakthrough of the BTB Initiative is to put down in clear language the steps these countries plan to make.
Third, the BTB Initiative puts responsibility for making crossborder law enforcement decisions in the hands of those political officers who have authority over the multiple departments who play a law in U.S.- Canada border issues.
Fourth, Theresa pointed out the need for the countries to address the differences between them openly and honestly. And she revealed a straight-forward but significant insight: that when it comes to large projects, the middle-level operators on both countries don't want to bring up 'bad news' to policymakers. Hence, for BTB Initiative to succeed we must keep pressing on the remaining challenges.
Some examples: (1) While the Shipriders Program, we're still waiting for the Canadian Parliament to pass legislation, also we haven't address this if this program goes off the water ot the land, how far should it extend--10, 20 miles? (And McLellan pointed out difficult with getting Cross-Border PILOTS program through.)
Fifth, we still have to deal with technical matters of customs law. For example, arms can't pass over the border, even if these are law enforcement officers doing their jobs. And there are other issues; therefore, we must put energy on this technical work which while not the most attention-grabbing often is the key to make joint border plans work.
Finally, Brown pointed out that all this work requires both nations to ensure they have the middle level bureaucrats to work through these issues. These are the actors that connect policy to the people on the ground that enforce the laws on the book. Unfortunately, in an era of budget cuts, will nations put the money in the behind-the-scenes actors that will be critical to ensuring that the BTB Initiative succeeds.
Cpt. Andrew Sugimoto, U.S. Coast Guard, Ninth District: Great Strides in U.S.-Canadian Security Cooperation Have Taken Place, But More Issues Remain
Sugimoto pointed out that the Coast Guard is a critical player in border enforcement, with $1.5 billion of goods crossing the Great Lakes every day and ships crossing back and forth seven times in a day. And that the two countries have cooperated with the Coast on a number of issues. But he noted that there are remaining areas where more work is needed to (1) ensure smooth trade between the nations and (2) protect both nations' security and sovereignty.
The successes: (1) 96-hour notice for Canadian cargo ships coming in each nation's waters, (2) bi-national ballast water inspections that have now stopped the introduction of new species into the Great Lakes, (3) the shiprider program, and (4) reducing regulatory overlap in how we manage the Canadian-U.S. waterways.
But there are remaining challenges: (1) both nations still have different ID cards for their shippers. Why not have pre-clearance, multi-modal ID cards, which would allow U.S. and Canadian shippers (whether by truck or ship) to clearly get over the border. And (2) both countries have to still work on intelligence sharing, which does face difficulties with each nation's different legal and political realities.
In closing, Crane brought up two key points. First, that this panel succeeded in bringing together three key parts of border issues: (1) policy makers, (2) bureaucratic implementers, and (3) the individuals actually engaged with law enforcement on the ground. Second, he noted that integration between Canada and the United States is being pulled not from above--on the policy-makers end--but rather from the officers on the ground who, working together, and now pushing policy-makers to push cross-border integration further.
Hon. A. Anne McLellan: BTB Initiative Is The Right Direction, But We Need to Focus on How to Build Support Among Both Countries' Citizens
While nothing that the cross-border law enforcement section of the BTB Initiative Former Parliamentarian and Deputy Prime Minster Anne McLellan touted the Beyond the Border Initiative, heralding it as "absolutely the right direction" and seeing it as a evolutionary step.
Among McLellan's many thoughtful comments, three bear particular mention.
First, McLellan made clear that the Initiative shows that the countries are moving past cooperation and collaboration, but now to integration. The poster-child of integration: the Shiprider Program that has U.S. Coast Guard personnel and RCMP working together on the same boats on the Great Lakes to enforce each nation's laws.
She also pointed out that for the operators on the ground doing cross-border law enforcement, the primary issue is not terrorism but rather the "bread and butter" issues of counterfeiting, human smuggling, contraband goods, and firearms. Stemming from this, McLellan believes that the additional work that is needed to see these regulatory reforms to stick is one of salesmanship: while in the U.S. such reforms may only be sold as anti-terrorism measures, the Canadian public is much more amendable to cross-border legal integration.
Third, one of the key breakthroughs of the BB Initiative is the clear incorporation of risk management into the document. McLellan pointed out that the 'zero risk' goal of the United States after 9/11 posed challenges to cross-border integration, but now that the joint framework has countries now engaged in managing risks and making the tough decisions, is the key to securing both countries. What has yet to be seen? That this approach will be operationalized in ways that make ways in both countries, that is essential the the BTB Initiative's success.
Question Updates:
(1) One issue that needs to be addressed, the exit-entry political debate in Canada.
(2) McLellan also shows the Canadian frustration with U.S. policymaker statements that seek to treat America's northern and southern border the same. The answer: we need to deal with these borders separately. Quick sidenote: And the U.S. Ambassador made clear that the United States don't view the two borders the same.
(3) BTB needs political support to complete, and must be seen in view of the Canadian public that doesn't see in pursuing these changes--especially with 9/11 now occurring over a decade ago.
Theresa C. Brown: The BTB Initiative Represents a Big Step Forward
Former DHS Attache of the United Stats in Ottawa (2008-11) and now Director of The Sentinel HS Group, LLC, Theresa C. Brown brought the viewpoint of the bureaucrat who has to implement cross border regulations. She gave six lessons from her work implementing cross-border regulations. Central to her insights was her work in ensuring that law enforcement officers can do there jobs; but to do so, we must make sure they are operating under proper legal authority and know the scope of their duties. If joint border efforts don't put emphasis on the middle-level bureaucrats who must interpret policy-shifts into clear law and regulations so that (1) law enforcement officers can do there work with (2) going beyond their legal mandate which can cause headaches in both countries, and cause integration to backslide.
First, both countries--after 9/11--needed to work together in identifying how they judged risk. And what the BTB Initiative now brings both countries together in how they formulate risk.
Second, BTB Initiative has taken both nations' cooperation agreements beyond 'vague statements of intent.' While such language might be a political necessity, it simply pushes tough decision to the bureaucratic who have to make figure out how to interpret broad language. This then pushes disputes downward, away from policy makers who have the authority to bridge these differences. The great breakthrough of the BTB Initiative is to put down in clear language the steps these countries plan to make.
Third, the BTB Initiative puts responsibility for making crossborder law enforcement decisions in the hands of those political officers who have authority over the multiple departments who play a law in U.S.- Canada border issues.
Fourth, Theresa pointed out the need for the countries to address the differences between them openly and honestly. And she revealed a straight-forward but significant insight: that when it comes to large projects, the middle-level operators on both countries don't want to bring up 'bad news' to policymakers. Hence, for BTB Initiative to succeed we must keep pressing on the remaining challenges.
Some examples: (1) While the Shipriders Program, we're still waiting for the Canadian Parliament to pass legislation, also we haven't address this if this program goes off the water ot the land, how far should it extend--10, 20 miles? (And McLellan pointed out difficult with getting Cross-Border PILOTS program through.)
Fifth, we still have to deal with technical matters of customs law. For example, arms can't pass over the border, even if these are law enforcement officers doing their jobs. And there are other issues; therefore, we must put energy on this technical work which while not the most attention-grabbing often is the key to make joint border plans work.
Finally, Brown pointed out that all this work requires both nations to ensure they have the middle level bureaucrats to work through these issues. These are the actors that connect policy to the people on the ground that enforce the laws on the book. Unfortunately, in an era of budget cuts, will nations put the money in the behind-the-scenes actors that will be critical to ensuring that the BTB Initiative succeeds.
Cpt. Andrew Sugimoto, U.S. Coast Guard, Ninth District: Great Strides in U.S.-Canadian Security Cooperation Have Taken Place, But More Issues Remain
Sugimoto pointed out that the Coast Guard is a critical player in border enforcement, with $1.5 billion of goods crossing the Great Lakes every day and ships crossing back and forth seven times in a day. And that the two countries have cooperated with the Coast on a number of issues. But he noted that there are remaining areas where more work is needed to (1) ensure smooth trade between the nations and (2) protect both nations' security and sovereignty.
The successes: (1) 96-hour notice for Canadian cargo ships coming in each nation's waters, (2) bi-national ballast water inspections that have now stopped the introduction of new species into the Great Lakes, (3) the shiprider program, and (4) reducing regulatory overlap in how we manage the Canadian-U.S. waterways.
But there are remaining challenges: (1) both nations still have different ID cards for their shippers. Why not have pre-clearance, multi-modal ID cards, which would allow U.S. and Canadian shippers (whether by truck or ship) to clearly get over the border. And (2) both countries have to still work on intelligence sharing, which does face difficulties with each nation's different legal and political realities.
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