Vic Toews, Minister of Public Safety and Regional Minister for Manitoba recently visited North Dakota to discuss progress on the Beyond the Border Action Plan and other cross border issues facing the region. During the visit, Toews met with the Governor of North Dakota, Jack Dalrymple, newly-elected United States Senator for North Dakota, Heidi Heitkamp, and the Attorney General of North Dakota, Wayne Stenehjem.
Canada and the state of North Dakota have a strong and mutually beneficial economic relationship. In 2011, the value of bilateral trade between Canada and North Dakota was $4.6 billion.
Canada and North Dakota have benefited from the Beyond the Border Action Plan, a joint initiative between Canada and the U.S. that sets ambitious but achievable goals that advance economic opportunity and lead to greater security across our shared border and at our perimeter. On December 14th, 2012, jointly the Government of Canada and the United States released the Beyond the Border Implementation Report, which demonstrated progress made in the first year of implementing the Beyond the Border Action Plan.
“We continue to advance the Beyond the Border Action Plan. We have, for example, established bi-national port committees and made enhancements to the NEXUS trusted-traveller program,” said Minister Toews. “We continue to work on implementing this shared vision by which we work together to facilitate the legitimate movement of people, goods and services across our shared border.’’
Another Beyond the Border initiative that benefits both Canada and North Dakota is the Canada-U.S. Communications Interoperability Working Group, which will help first responders in border regions deal with issues such as flooding. Both acknowledged the importance of ongoing cooperation of officials on both sides of the border during times of flooding to ensure the safety and security of all our citizens during emergencies.
The Government of Canada looks forward to continuing to build on its successful partnership with North Dakota. Ongoing dialogue with border states demonstrates our mutual commitment to increase our shared prosperity and address common challenges.
