US, Canada sign border patrol pact
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DETROIT - The United States and Canada adopted an agreement yesterday to allow law enforcement authorities of both nations to share personnel and cross the border more easily to fight human, drug, and weapon smuggling on waterways that separate them.
Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Canadian Minister of Public Safety Peter Van Loan met to formally sign the pact at a cargo facility at the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, Ontario.
The agreement, known as the Shiprider program, allows officers from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police and US Coast Guard to ride each other's vessels for joint patrols and specific enforcement operations.
Vessels have been required to stop at the border and call the other nation's agencies for help, but the pact allows ships carrying joint enforcement teams to operate in each country's territory.
The signing gives US and Canadian officials the authority to train each other's officers and establish the program permanently. During a 57-day pilot program in 2007, the joint effort led to the seizure of contraband cigarettes, marijuana, and the recovery of an abducted child, Van Loan said.
The move came less than a week before new border-crossing rules take effect. The Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, which starts Monday, tightens documentation rules for entry into the United States from Canada, requiring everyone to have passports or special driver's licenses.
Napolitano said one reason for her visit was to review preparations for the new rules. She said she understands concerns the change could impede travel and trade, and she is working to make sure the law . . . is implemented as smoothly and efficiently as possible."
