Workshop Report Workshop Report Rapporteurs David Szabo Todd M. Walters FOREWORD The relationship between Canada and the United States has been critically important for the defense of North America for over sixty years. The tremendous volume of trade that crosses the Canadian-U.S. border – currently valued at approximately $1.4 billion a day – is vital to both countries. Furthermore, close bilateral cooperation has been required to secure the fl ow of people and goods across an immense shared border and maritime domain. The events of September 11, 2001, fundamentally changed the security relationship between Canada and the United States. The focus of that relationship shifted to guarding against terrorists that have the potential to strike within our borders. This new asymmetric threat environment demands new ways of thinking about homeland security and homeland defense, and will require diffi cult but essential organizational and cultural changes to government agencies operating within and between the United States and Canada. Moreover, decisions need to be made about how the security relationship can be effectively extended to the maritime domain. In order to discuss these new challenges and how we can best confront them, the Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis (IFPA) and the Canadian Embassy in the United States, with the sponsorship of the Richard Lounsbery Foundation, convened a meeting entitled The Canada-U.S. Partnership: Enhancing Our Common Security on March 14, 2005, at the Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington, D.C. This was envisaged as the fi rst in a series that will include a similar meeting on U.S.-Mexico homeland security cooperation in the near future. Presentations and discussions highlighted some of the key changes that have been made to the homeland security structures of both countries since 9/11, and the ongoing efforts to improve the bilateral relationship. Several goals for the future direction of North American security were also articulated, and differing proposals were put forward on how to proceed. The Executive Summary that follows lays out central topics and key conclusions from the conference. Unless explicitly indicated, the views expressed do not necessarily represent those of the panelists or the conference organizers and sponsors. Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr. President Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis 1 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Morning Session and Discussion U.S.-Canadian Bilateral National Security Structures and the Maritime Security Mission The morning session focused on the bilateral national security structure and the maritime security mission. Among the Topics for discussion were organizational changes since 9/11 to address our shared security needs and Canadian and U.S. efforts to defend against maritime threats, including measures to improve maritime awareness, surveillance, and warning capabilities and to augment intelligence management and information sharing. Key conclusions: • Several changes have already been made to the homeland security architectures of both countries. New national security policies have been enunciated and agencies responsible for issues such as border security, immigration policy, and emergency preparedness have been consolidated in new departments. • Discussions should continue on how Canada and the United States can work together to improve security in the aerospace, maritime, land, cyber, and civil support domains. • The maritime domain presents the greatest potential for the future development of bi-national cooperation, but North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) will not necessarily be the ideal forum for that development.1 There are unique hurdles to bi-national cooperation in the maritime domain that need to be addressed. • The areas where bilateral coordination would be benefi cial need to be determined before decisions are made on how to institutionalize and manage that coordination. The future of the Canada-U.S. security relationship should be “bi-national where necessary but not necessarily bi-national.” • Information sharing is of critical importance to effective bilateral homeland security cooperation. There are diffi cult political, legal, bureaucratic, and cultural hurdles to improving intelligence and information sharing, but security cannot be achieved without it. • Today’s asymmetric threat environment demands that we direct new attention to securing critical infrastructure that facilitates the fl ow of people and goods into North America and across the Canada-U.S. border. At the same time, we should continue to guard against the transit of illicit materials and threatening persons into our respective homelands. • We must focus on improving our ability to respond to and manage attacks when they occur in addition to enhancing our capacity to prevent such attacks in the fi rst place. • Efforts should be directed toward improving upon the already deep relationships among agencies within and between Canada and the United States. Interagency coordination that merges the complementary capacities of various defense, crisis management, and intelligence organizations will foster the integrated, layered homeland security architecture that today’s threat environment demands. 1 NORAD was created in 1958 and has had its mission reviewed and extended every few years since then. The current NORAD agreement is set to expire in May 2006. For more information see http://www.norad.mil. 3 Luncheon Address Delivered by Mr. Kenneth Rapuano, Deputy Assistant to the President for Homeland Security, the White House The United States and Canada share common homeland security concerns and interests. The two countries are safer since 9/11 because of our enhanced commitment to improving the bilateral security relationship. Cooperation between the governments of both countries is occurring at the highest levels to prepare for potential future attacks and mitigate the severity of an incident. As we move ahead with reforming the bilateral security structure, we should strive to synchronize immigration procedures and think about how Mexico can eventually be integrated into a continental border security framework. Afternoon Session and Discussion Border, Transportation, and Port Security The afternoon session focused on border, transportation and port security. Discussion topics included issues and programs directly related to the security of the borders shared by Canada and the United States and changes that will be needed to balance our requirement for security with the necessary fl ow of people and commerce across those borders. Key conclusions: • The customs and border security services in Canada and the United States have undergone important changes since 9/11. Efforts have been made to increase interagency coordination within and between Canada and the United States to secure the shared border. • New initiatives have been pursued to “push the borders out” by inspecting and securing cargo shipments at overseas ports before they depart for North America. Programs that pre-clear travelers and commercial shipments have been implemented to reduce delays at border crossings and direct attention toward higher-risk targets. • Canada and the United States are improving information sharing by utilizing joint databases for identifi cation and risk assessment of people and goods. • Developing a common security perimeter for North America to allow the freer movement of people and goods within our borders would direct resources to fewer points of entry and allow for greater information sharing. However, there are issues beyond the security benefi ts – such as trade and immigration policy – that need to be taken into account before such a perimeter can be established. • New technologies and critical infrastructure development are essential for improving security and effi ciency along the border. • Border and other security reforms can present impediments to new companies and emerging industries. Business leaders should recognize the need to consult and communicate with government organizations before making decisions, so that efforts to secure our borders are balanced with the need to maintain business effi ciency. 4 MORNING SESSION WELCOMING REMARKS Dr. Robert L. Pfaltzgraff, Jr., President, Institute for Foreign Policy Analysis, and Shelby Cullom Davis, Professor of International Security Studies, The Fletcher School, Tufts University This one-day workshop focused on Canada-U.S. homeland security cooperation in both its domestic and international dimensions, extending from threats that come from outside our borders to those that may originate within them. • No relationship is more important to the United States than that with our neighbor to the north, especially given the ever-thickening web of contacts and relationships that exist between our two countries and the fact that both span the North American continent with a common border from the Atlantic to the Pacifi c. • The goal is to follow this meeting and the studies that result from it with a comparable effort with Mexico. We will then convene a trilateral conference to discuss our common security, interests, needs, strategies, priorities and policies. Mr. Jon Allen, Minister (Political Affairs), Embassy of Canada in the United States Canada and the United States share a continent, a set of fundamental values, an economic system, and a physical environment. We are highly dependent on each other for our economic prosperity. • Bilateral trade is currently valued at approximately $1.4 billion a day. Furthermore,