Laura Dawson comments on new U.S.-Canada border agreement

CTV news

Keystone will come up, but whether or not we can expect any movement? I'd be surprised to see that," said Laura Dawson, a policy scholar at the Canada Institute at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars.

"There are a lot of political calculations in play right now, and pressure from Canada will not likely speed anything up."

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But even though Keystone XL has become a political hot potato, the border deal proves the strength of the bond between Americans and Canadians, Dawson said.

"The Canada-U.S. relationship is such a mature and integrated relationship that really, there is very little we can do at summits or during executive level talks -- it's at the local, state, and business level where things get accomplished, and then we turn to the political level to bless it," Dawson said.

"The border deal is a good example of that. There was technical level co-operation on a number of fronts, with people at municipal and state and provincial levels really hammering this deal out. The fact that we got this deep in the weeds to come up with this agreement shows how strong the ties are."

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Ipolitics.ca

Laura Dawson, a policy scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, says the pact will mean more intelligent, efficient security for those travelling between the two countries.

“What Canadians will see right away is that things are easier for travellers and businesses as they go across the border,” Dawson said.

“That doesn’t mean they have less information, but they’re going to be a lot more intelligent about how they compile and share it. They’re looking for the bad guys, and if you’re a legitimate traveller or manufacturer, the situation at the border should be noticeably better for you.”

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