Trade, security on agenda of North American talks: Knowledge Driven Revolution

Related - Stop the SPP ministers February 23 meeting in Ottawa

Related - Arar divisive issue as N. American officials meet

North American politicians are gathering in Ottawa on Friday for "very open high-level talks" to discuss border security and how to simplify trade among Canada, the U.S. and Mexico.

The goal of the Security and Prosperity Partnership deal, first struck in 2005, is to improve competitiveness and public safety.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay said the trilateral talks are an opportunity to discuss problems, such as those involving new U.S. passport requirements to enter the country.

"[The partnership] is ensuring that Canada's sovereignty, Canada's interest, and Canada's prosperity and security are going to be advanced through this partnership and through these very open high-level talks," MacKay said.

Canada has expressed concern that the passport rule — designed to toughen border security after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in the U.S. — would interfere with legitimate travel and commerce.

Harmonizing rules could have prevented the U.S. ban on Canadian beef after the 2003 discovery of mad-cow disease in cattle, said Canadian businessman Thomas d'Aquino, who is on a council of business leaders that is expected to deliver a report to the political leaders on Friday.

Arar's 'no-fly' status in U.S. likely to remain

"If we had identical requirements for safety standards, health standards, then if there were another crisis we would not have a situation that we had, which was very crippling to our industry," d'Aquino said.

The U.S. reopened borders to younger Canadian beef exports a few months later, with young live cattle allowed across beginning in July 2005.

Canada is also likely to keep pressing the U.S. on the issue of Canadian Maher Arar's name still being on a U.S. no-fly list, in spite of Arar's public vindication in Canada.

The Syrian-born engineer was stopped at a New York airport in 2002 and deported to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured for nine months on suspicion he was linked to al-Qaeda.

It has been reported that the U.S. will likely continue to regard Arar as a threat despite declarations from Canada that he is innocent.

Friday's meeting, while important, is not expected to produce much in the way of final decisions. They're more likely to be made when the so-called Three Amigos — Prime Minister Stephen Harper, U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Félipe Calderon — meet in Canada over the summer.

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