Category: Media

Politicians, pot and problems at the border | Macleans.ca

The recent outbreak of political frankness when it comes to past marijuana use, while refreshing, is not without consequences. Political leaders who made such admissions, including three provincial premiers, the leaders of two national parties and the mayors of Toronto and London, Ont., may find, as thousands of Canadians have, that honesty may not be the best policy when trying to gain entry to the U.S. If you’ve ever been arrested for cannabis possession, or even admitted to puffing pot, Uncle Sam does not want you.

There are more than 60 grounds of inadmissibility under the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act, including admitting to smoking marijuana, a crime of “moral turpitude,” says Thomas Schreiber, Chief Customs and Border Protection Officer at Blaine, Wash., in an email exchange with Maclean’s. He cites the relevant section: “any alien convicted of, or who admits having committed or who admits committing acts which constitute the essential elements of a violation of . . .any law or regulation of a State, the United States or a foreign country relating to a controlled substance . . . is inadmissible.”

That cuts quite a swath. Some 40 per cent of Canadians 15 or older admit to smoking marijuana in their lifetime, says a 2011 Health Canada survey. If a U.S. border agent asks any of those more than 10 million Canadians if they’ve ever used pot, and they answer honestly, they will be barred. Agents have no room for discretion, says Schreiber. “The law is very clear on matters of admissibility.”

Full story: Politicians, pot and problems at the border – Canada – Macleans.ca.

DC Comics to launch Justice League Canada in 2014 | Toronto Star

Move over, Captain Canuck and Alpha Flight. Our home and native land’s superhero population is set to expand as Justice League Canada steps up to save the world.

On Friday afternoon, at Toronto’s sprawling Fan Expo convention, DC Comics will announce that its flagship superhero team — which has included such celebrity superheroes as Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman and Green Lantern — is going to uproot from the U.S.A. and be headquartered north of the border in the spring of 2014. The ongoing Justice League of America series will be renamed and feature a new Canadian character alongside some of the world’s best-known heroes.

Better yet, it will be written by Toronto’s own Jeff Lemire, who has become one of DC’s superstar writers, and now gets the chance to bring those heroes to his familiar stomping ground.

“This is like my ultimate dream job,” said Lemire during an interview earlier this week. “It sounds like a joke and something like this would never happen, but it is actually happening, and I couldn’t be happier.”

Much of the action will take place in Toronto, Lemire says, but the actual team will be based around James Bay and Moosonee.

“I do want to create a cool, rural Northern Ontario headquarters for Justice League Canada, and I don’t want to spoil it yet.

“And it’s not a hockey rink, I promise. Although, of course, it did cross my mind,” he says with a laugh.

Full story: DC Comics to launch Justice League Canada in 2014 | Toronto Star.

U.S. pushes for cross-border officers to be exempt from Canadian law: RCMP memo | The Globe and Mail

The United States wants its police officers to be exempt from Canadian law if they agree to take part in a highly touted cross-border policing initiative, says an internal RCMP memo.

The debate over whose laws would apply to U.S. officers working in Canada raises important questions of sovereignty and police accountability, says the briefing note prepared for RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson.

“Canadians would likely have serious concerns with cross-designated officers from the U.S. not being accountable for their actions in Canada.”

The planned pilot project — part of a sweeping Canada-U.S. perimeter security pact — would see the two countries build on joint border-policing efforts by creating integrated teams in areas such as intelligence and criminal investigations.

The perimeter deal, being phased in over several years, aims to ensure the safe, speedy passage of goods and people across the 49th parallel while bolstering North American defences.

Full story: U.S. pushes for cross-border officers to be exempt from Canadian law: RCMP memo – The Globe and Mail.

If Detroit Tunnel Goes on the Block, Windsor Wants It | Wall Street Journal

If Detroit Tunnel Goes on the Block, Windsor Wants It – Canada Real Time – WSJ.

Debt-laden Detroit, which filed for bankruptcy last week, isn’t planning to sell off assets to pay back its creditors. But if any Detroit assets do go on the market, a Canadian mayor says there’s one his city wants.

It’s not landmark sites like the world-class Detroit Institute of Arts, the 982-acre island park of Belle Isle, or the 125-acre Detroit Zoo that Windsor, Ontario Mayor Eddie Francis has his eye on. Rather, the neighboring Canadian city wants full ownership of the busy underwater Canada-U.S. tunnel that runs between the cities.

Full story.

U.S. eyes high-tech security boost at Canadian border | CBC News

U.S. eyes high-tech security boost at Canadian border – Politics – CBC News.

A U.S. senator says a low-cost, high-tech cable sensor system could be planted along the Canada-U.S. border to boost security without impeding business.

Montana Democrat Senator Jon Tester, who will chair a special field meeting of the U.S. Senate homeland security committee today focusing on the northern border, said cutting-edge technology, private partnerships and bilateral collaboration are key to closing potentially critical gaps — especially at expansive unmanned stretches.

“I think there’s some real opportunity to save money and get better border security,” Tester told CBC News. “I’m not talking drones here, I’m talking low-level radar. I’m talking things like Blue Rose technology, where you can lay a cable in the ground and determine whether a gopher runs over it, or a human being, or a horse.”

Full story.

Burlington French Signs: Vermont Town Welcomes French-Canadians | Huffingtonpost.ca

Burlington French Signs: Vermont Town Welcomes French-Canadians.

Calling all French-Canadians, the town of Burlington, Vt. is now speaking your language. Well, it’s not so much speaking, as it is posting signs in French and English around the busy border town.

The move is part of a “resolution of French friendliness” the town passed to welcome French-speaking tourists, according to the Toronto Sun. The motion passed by city council over the weekend saw 700 bilingual stickers added to the city’s parking meters by The Alliance Française of the Lake Champlain Region, a chapter of a world-wide association that promotes French culture.

“Just a little bit of accommodation here and there with a parking meter sticker or a few words in French as you greet them, really makes that visitor feel at home,” Linda Pervier with the Alliance Francaise told local news station WCAX.com.

Full story.

Latinos face trouble by calling 911 in border towns, group says | The Seattle Times

Latinos face trouble by calling 911 in border towns, group says | Local News | The Seattle Times.

A complaint filed this week with the Justice Department said many Latinos living in U.S. cities along the Canadian border have grown fearful of calling 911 because they know U.S. Border Patrol officers often respond with local police.

Many Latinos living in the northern border towns of Sumas, Blaine and Lynden have grown fearful of calling 911 in emergencies because they know that frequently U.S. Border Patrol officers who process those calls respond along with the local police.

 

That claim is contained in a civil-rights complaint a Whatcom County immigrant-advocacy group has filed against U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the three cities.

 

The complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Justice claims the agency and the cities together violate the civil rights of Latinos by subjecting them to racial profiling and discriminatory treatment no other group has to endure.

Full story.

Immigration reform challenges Mexican & Canadian border farmers | Arizona Capitol Times

Immigration reform challenges Mexican & Canadian border farmers | Arizona Capitol Times.

There is no fruit on the trees in New York in March but Jim Bittner is busy making phone calls and talking to buyers for the upcoming growing season. When he walks outside, the cool air from Lake Ontario bites at his cheeks. If the sky is clear, he might be able to see Toronto, Canada, from one of his apple orchards.

More than 2,200 miles away, rancher Dennis Moroney steps onto his porch and into the dry heat of southern Arizona. The 160 cattle he tends are in the mountains for the winter, waiting until the first green mesquite beans appear in the flat land. As he points out the boundaries of his property, “from the peak of that mountain, over the ridge, to that slope,” he can also point to a long black line dividing the landscape in the distance. It’s a small section of the border fence between the United States and Mexico.

Personal data on thousands of cross-border travellers shared with U.S. under new program | Edmonton Journal

Personal data on thousands of cross-border travellers shared with U.S. under new program.

OTTAWA — Canada and the U.S. have swapped biographic information on 756,000 cross-border travellers under a sweeping new effort to catch cheating entrants, according to a new border agency report.

The flow of personal data between the countries has so far been limited to information about third-country nationals and permanent residents crossing at four major Canada-U.S. land border points.

Next year, however, the bilateral exchange will expand to cover all travellers, including Canadian and American citizens, at all automated border crossings.

The project is part of the 2011 Canada-U.S. Beyond the Border declaration and action plan. Like many post-9/11 efforts, the new “Entry/Exit Information System” attempts to find the elusive balance between national security and personal privacy.

Full story.

Cuomo and Canadians in Verbal War Over Peace Bridge | NYTimes.com

Cuomo and Canadians in Verbal War Over Peace Bridge – NYTimes.com.

FORT ERIE, Ontario — Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s administration is known for its combative stance toward lawmakers, bureaucrats and reporters alike.

Now, the administration has all but declared war on a new enemy: Canada.

Or, at least, an arm of the Canadian government.

At issue is the 3,580-foot bridge that crosses the Niagara River between Buffalo and this Canadian town. It is called the Peace Bridge, though its name does not seem especially apt now.

Full story.