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Making sure terrorists don't leave a legacy

I admit my palms were sweaty. I turned in my car seat to face the rear of our truck, ready to brief the kids on what to say and what not to say. And then I stopped.

I admit my palms were sweaty.

I turned in my car seat to face the rear of our truck, ready to brief the kids on what to say and what not to say.

And then I stopped.

"What," I asked myself was I worried about?

We are a family of four Canadians going camping to the U.S., a nation we consider our friend and ally, so why was I so nervous?

As a university student, and for some years after, I used to travel occasionally to the U.S. with my sister and her husband's family to enjoy a lake-front cottage they had. My memories of those trips are filled with relaxed border crossings - even the knowing wink of a border guard who knew we had too much cheese in our shopping as we headed home.

But those days are just memories and when I ponder as to why there is only one answer - 9/11.

Like almost everyone else I can remember clearly the horror of watching the planes plough into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York ten years ago.

I remember cradling my baby and knowing that life would never be the same again.

For this generation the attacks on New York, Washington and the skies over Pennsylvania are a marker in history like Pearl Harbor - the beginning of a new way of looking at our lives. The difference here though, of course, was the attack was on civilians not military making the impact on the psyche worse in many ways.

The death toll was more than 3,000. And reports in the most recent Lancet medical journal reveal that: "...nine years after the 9/11 WTC attacks, rescue and recovery workers continue to have a substantial burden of physical and mental health problems."

While the attacks did not stop me travelling it changed the whole experience forever. "Fun" is no longer a word I would ever use to describe travel. Now "travel" is about the hassle of getting to the place where you want to have fun.

For determined travellers it's just a fact of life. But for occasional travellers the experience at an airport, the invasion of personal space, the fear of being picked on for further scrutiny all add up to a good reason to just vacation "at home."

And as Whistler can attest to it is having a serious impact on our economy.

There is no escaping the fact that Canada relies on the U.S. economy to maintain its elevated standard of living, while for America our nation's contribution economically is not really a determining factor in its success.

Sure there are many sectors that are important in this model but for Whistler the only one that really counts is the number of visitors coming here and the U.S. numbers are still depressing compared to the good ole' days.

In the February 17, 2011 edition of The Daily, Statistics Canada released international travel numbers for December, as well as the preliminary numbers for the full 12 months of 2010.

The total number of international overnight visits to Canada increased by 2.0 per cent in 2010. This includes a 1.0 per cent increase from the U.S., while visitation from all other countries was up 6.8 per cent for the year. Visits of one or more nights from the U.S. increased by 0.7 per cent in 2010. In 2001 about 40 million Americans visited Canada but by 2008 that was down to just over 22 million (2009 Canadian Tourism Commission report).

We can't lay the blame for this depressed level of travel on 9/11 alone. This column has frequently explored the many reasons for changes in travel including the economy, the strong Canadian dollar, the search for value and more.

But there is no escaping the impact it has had on crossing the Canada-U.S. border.

David Goldstein, president of the Tourism Industry Association of Canada, said recently that restrictions have devastated trade in some sectors and frustrated travellers.

"We're never going to get back to the same pre-9/11 situation but we can get as close as possible to it," he said.

"It is easier to get a box of cherries from California across the border than it is to get a Californian across."

This reaction is one reason why so many are welcoming the signing of a declaration integrating security and harmonizing trade rules last week by Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama.

The agreement flows in part from two reports done by the federal government - one addressing perimeter security and economic competiveness and the other regulatory co-operation. They are based on consultations this past spring and summer with more than 1,000 citizens including levels of government, business groups, organized labour academics and think-tanks.

But like all these high level discussions there are so many tangents to carry dialogue sideways - security issues versus issues of sovereignty for example - a final agreement will not only be a long time in coming it may be so watered down so as to be of no use at all in a practical sense.

For this reason alone, those in positions of influence, be they government, or business, or lobbyists for special interests such as tourism, must continue to push for a safe but less harrowing protocol for tourist border crossings.

Afterall, throughout the ten years since the terrorist attacks the majority of people have vowed not to let the event impact our way of life - the everyman's way of combating terrorism.

But if our economies continue to suffer as a result are we not letting the terrorists have their legacy?