Losing Friends and Alienating People

*Note: Above image is a reference to a comedy film of the same name. Click here to see the film poster.

It’s been quite a week for Janet Napolitano, head of the US Department of Homeland Security. It started with an interview conducted by CBC Washington correspondent Neil Macdonald (transcript here, video here). During the interview she made some interesting quotes, the most damning seeming to suggest that the 9/11 terrorists did come through Canada. Below are some highlights:

Regarding why the border needs to be more stringent:

…because, in part, our two countries have different standards for visas and who is allowed in our countries, there really are some things that the border helps to identify.

Regarding parity between the US/Mexico and Canada/Mexico borders:

The law doesn't differentiate. The law says the borders are the borders and these are the kind of things that have to be done at the borders.

Secondly, yes, Canada is not Mexico, it doesn't have a drug war going on, it didn't have 6,000 homicides that were drug-related last year. Nonetheless, to the extent that terrorists have come into our country or suspected or known terrorists have entered our country across a border, it's been across the Canadian border. There are real issues there.

That last piece prompted Neil to ask if she was talking about the 9/11 perpetrators. Her response:

Not just those but others as well. So again, every country is entitled to have a border. It's part of sovereignty. It's part of knowing who's in the country.

The 9/11 Myth Rears Its Ugly Head

That last quote I mentioned did not go unnoticed. Michael Wilson, Canada’s ambassador to the US, made sure to clarify the facts to the Border Trade Alliance meeting that he was speaking at and express his frustration that these inaccuracies were brought up.

In response, Napolitano’s team said she “misunderstood the question” and thought Neil was referring to Ahmed Ressam. Ressam was the gent that tried to cross into the US with a carload of explosives bound for LAX. Note that this occurred in 1999, well before the 9/11 attacks.

Canada’s Immigration Standards a Risk

According to a CBC story, at the same conference Napolitano then made matters worse by suggesting that the Canada/Mexico border should be treated similarly in part because…

The fact of the matter is that Canada allows people into its country that we do not allow into ours.

That’s a pretty strong statement to make about one of your main trading partners, and one that we as Canadians should take offense to. Note that in the afore-mentioned interview, Napolitano was also quoted as saying

We (Canada and the US) have very dissimilar visa requirements.

so its obvious there is a sentiment in the DoHS, regardless of what spin they use, that Canada has a porous immigration laws.

It’s Our Border, but You Pay For It

Finally, truckers in the Atlantic area of Canada are frustrated with border administration fees they’re forced to pay when crossing the border.

We import food grown in the US, by US companies. We ship those by truck into Canada. But for our trucks to cross over, they have to pay fees. These have ballooned from $100 million a year after 9/11 2001 to an estimated 1 billion dollars a year today.

What does this mean? It means that ultimately some of that cost will be passed through to the consumers in Canada. And where do those fees paid out go to? Peter Nelson of the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association suggests in the article that its subsidizing law, drug, and immigration enforcement…but at the southern border as well. Think about that:

Canada paying fees to import US products into Canada so that the US southern border is more secure.

Close Ally, Good Friend?

In that interview with Neil MacDonald, Napolitano is quoted as saying

We want to work with Canada. Canada is such a close friend and ally and good friends with the United States.

If I treated my friends the way the US DoHS is treating us, I’d be a pretty lonely guy. Let’s get rid of all the niceties and call it like it is: Canada/US border relations are heading towards a business relationship, not a friendly one. Which is sad…so many years of goodwill all going to waste.