Achieving Columbia River Treaty 2.0: Challenges of A 21st Century Update to An International Dam and Power Generation Treaty

By Keith Edmund White

Source:  CRT Digital Library, http://crtlibrary.cbt.org/items/show/125

Editor-in-Chief

A local Washington State paper, talks Columbia River Treaty (CRT) renewal, detailing the ecological pressures that accompany updating a 20^th century power generation-flood control treaty to reflect 21^st century concerns.  But are renewal talks over CRT, a treaty that whose expiration clock starts running in 2014, more likely to stumble over financial terms?  

Then again, will this impressive water-management/power generation treaty, which stretches from British Columbia to Montana, be able to adapt to ecological concerns or the demands of Native peoples on both sides of the border?  

Keith White discusses the CRT's impressive 50-year evolution.

The Columbia River Treaty:  'Kaiser City' Floods, 50 Years Canada-U.S. Flood and Power Cooperation Starts

In May 1948, a ten-foot high deluge inundated the city of Vanport, then the second-largest city in Oregon locate between Portland and Vancouver.  The Vanport Flood not only washed a city (striking “Kaiser City” from the U.S. cultural lexicon), but ushered in a impressive treaty where the United States swapped power generation in return for Canada providing regional flood control.  (Page jump after the photo)

Source:  CRT 2014/2024 Review-Recent  U.S. Entity Study Results available in full below.

9th Circuit Says No to "Computer Strip Searches," Narrows Border Search Doctrine, and May Change the Canada-U.S. Security & Trade Relationship Too

By Keith Edmund White

CrimPro meets border policy courtesy of child pornography.  Why an apparent court victory for digital privacy rights might be a 21st century Trojan horse, and its impact on the Canada-U.S. border security and trade relationship. 

The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals held today (United States of America v. Cotterman) that reasonable suspicion is needed to forensically examine electronic devices seized during a border search (and not risk having any incriminating evidence kicked out of court).

OK, boiled down:  The 9th put up red light to a "computer strip search" without reasonable suspicion.

Might not sound like a big deal, but this decision reflects an interesting development in the suspicionless searches of personal property (yes, there are times law enforcement officers can search your stuff without showing an iota of cause).

Oh, and it might just impact America's border security and trade policies.

Disclaimer:  I haven't fully digested, let alone have the expertise of others, like the Brennan Center for Justice, to fully assess this case.  The post,  found after the jump, simply highlights:

• even a cursory read of the decision's summary suggests that this decision reflects something more complicated than a 'win' or 'lose' for digital privacy rights, and 
• perhaps the most important aspect of the case, whether giving heightened protection against computer strip searches impacts U.S. border security, gets shockingly short attention by the Court.   

U.S. Transportation Budget Woes? Just Copy Canada

By Keith Edmund White

Canada may just save U.S. state legislators from raising taxes to fund road repairs.

Canadian Immigration: Ontario > Quebec > British Columbia

Nothing too shocking (figures match the provinces' overall population trends), besides 2010 representing a 2008-12 high-water mark.

Will Sequester's Border Trade Effects Dampen BTB?

Will sequester dampen the blue skies of BTB?

By Keith Edmund White
Editor-in-Chief

Will one of the unintended victims of sequester be the Beyond the Border Initiative (BTB)?

For now, no.  

But recent reports suggest a prolonged sequester may turn BTB into a moribund agreement. 

2013 Niagara Moot Court Competition Results

The results are in!

Click the image for a full-screen view, and learn more about the 2013 competition here.

NDP's Patry Bloc Bolt: Short-Term Pain, Long-Term Gain?

By Keith Edmund White

Editor-in-Chief

Keith Edmund White on why the pundits are wrong on Patry's Bloc bolt, with some help from recent U.S. party-switching history.  And how the loss of one seat my just hand the NDP Parliament in 2015.

My google-news feed is filled with takes on Quebec NDP MP Claude Patry's switch to, in the National Post's words, the "moribund but still kicking" Bloc Quebecois.  

The BQ now boasts a whopping 5 members in Canada's 308-member Parliament.

But the NDP, Canada's Official Opposition Party, has one less seat.

So does Patry's Bloc party signal closing time for the NDP?