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Open borders top priority says US Consul General

In Whistler for a fact-finding visit before G8 foreign ministers meet, Hugo Llorens says heightened border security is here to stay Keeping border traffic moving smoothly is a top priority for government officials says Vancouver’s US Consul Gene

In Whistler for a fact-finding visit before G8 foreign ministers meet, Hugo Llorens says heightened border security is here to stay

Keeping border traffic moving smoothly is a top priority for government officials says Vancouver’s US Consul General Hugo Llorens.

"Governments are really rolling up their sleeves and working on border issues," said Llorens, who was in Whistler recently as part of an advance information gathering team for the upcoming meeting of the G8 foreign ministers June 12 and 13.

"We have a golden opportunity to create a real 21 st century border.

"Both governments are very mindful of the need to make sure that we work together to make our border a kind of main street rather than some kind of wall."

Each year about 200 million people cross the Canada-USA border and $550 billion dollars in trade is done.

B.C is one of America’s top 10 trading partners, said Llorens, so there is a deep understanding of how important it is to keep the border working smoothly.

But there is no doubt things have changed since the terrorist attacks Sept.11 on the US.

"Post Sept.11 is really a new-world," he said.

"Security is extremely tight.

"Obviously heightened security prevention is here to stay but governments have made a real effort to deal with the situation.

"But if the US and Canada build a wall along the border terrorists win."

Llorens admits that what the US calls its northern border has always been starved of funds. Money has instead been funnelled to the border with Mexico.

But Sept. 11 has changed that too and the US northern border is now a target for more funds and staff.

New accords have be drawn up between Canada and the US outlining the use of cutting-edge technology to help keep the border secure. There are also plans to share intelligence and take part in joint operations, and methods to keep goods moving smoothly between the two nations.

"We want to make sure the border is secure heading both north and south," said Llorens.

"But at the same time it must remain an open and efficient border for the movement of people, goods, services, money and everything else."

One example of this, he said, is the Nexus program, which will replace PACE, a frequent-user system for people crossing the US-Canadian border in B.C.

Nexus will use biometric, or facial recognition software, to screen people as they cross the border. Anyone who applies for a Nexus pass-card will be pre-screened by security agencies.

Anything that keeps tourists travelling across the border smoothly is good news for Whistler. After Sept. 11 there were fears that tourists would stay home.

In the wake of Sept. 11 Tourism Whistler launched a series of marketing programs in B.C., Washington and Oregon to tap into vacationers who might consider driving to a holiday resort rather than flying.

Statistics gathered from November to March showed that visitors from Washington State were up 32 per cent over last year.

But for many the border crossing was a nightmare, with waits of three to five hours.

While checks and challenges are part of crossing the border these days Llorens believes most citizens understand why they are necessary.

"Americans and Canadians are concerned about security and they demand tight security from their governments to deal with the threat of terrorism," he said.

"But at the same time they want to be able to cross that border, they want to be able to cross to vacation, to visit friends and relatives, and to conduct business.

"Americans and Canadians have a huge stake not only in security of North America but also in economic prosperity."

The solution lies in using common sense said Llorens, who will leave his Vancouver positing this July to take a position with the National Security Council in Washington, D.C.

"We have to find common sense ways to have a safe border," he said.

"It is not about people risking their sovereignty. This is about two sovereign governments having a common stake in combating international terrorism and international crime by adopting good common sense measures to make sure the bad guys don’t win."

Co-ordinated law enforcement, such as the Integrated Border Enforcement Team, is a key component of this.

"Here is a classic example of a two-nation multi-agency (effort) working together," said Llorens.

"To the bad guys the border means nothing. International crime groups and international terrorists have operations in Vancouver, Seattle, and even San Francisco.

"The border is not their enemy so what we are trying to do is to work on both sides in a co-ordinated fashion so that we can catch them."

The border will be a key focus as Canada gets ready to host the G8 summit in Kananaskis, Alberta June 26-27, as it will likely be a protest location.

Llorens has every confidence that security will be well handled by Canadian authorities at the G8 summit and at the meeting of G8 foreign ministers in Whistler.

"We are very fortunate that the Canadians do splendid planning at these types of meetings," said Llorens.

"Canadians are on the cutting edge in terms of putting on a very secure package that ensures the very safe holding of a summit meeting with minimal damage all around.

"You have to have security but I don’t expect tourists or people in the area will really be affected at all."