Latest perimeter talks touch on business travel

Another round of talks between big business and government on the Canada-United States perimeter security plan has occurred in Toronto and Washington, focused on greasing the wheels of business travel. (...more)

MacKay, Natynczyk set to skip arms trade show

Canada's defence minister and top soldier are both planning to skip this year's CANSEC arms trade show in Ottawa, their offices have confirmed. For Defence Minister Peter MacKay, who is jetting off to Singapore to attend a high-profile defence conference, it's a break from a four-year tradition, as he has attended every CANSEC since he was shuffled into the job in August 2007. (...more)

Watchdog has seen draft Canada-US perimeter privacy statement

A forthcoming statement by Canada and the United States on how the two countries will protect personal information under their perimeter security plan has received feedback from the federal privacy watchdog, Embassy has learned. (...more)

Swedish foreign minister wants search-and-rescue treaty in play

Sweden's top diplomat wants its Arctic Council partners like Canada to move forward on implementing the council's legally-binding search-and-rescue agreement. (...more)

Military's structural overhaul seen as long overdue

Opposition MPs and military observers are reacting largely in favour to a major overhaul being made to the Canadian Forces, one that cuts a quarter of the command structure put in place in 2006 through consolidating several headquarters. (...more)

'Baby steps' to US agents on Canadian soil: RCMP

The RCMP is planning to ease Canadians into the idea of United States law enforcement agents pursuing suspects across the land border and onto Canadian soil through "baby steps," say two top Mounties. (...more)

DFAIT cuts: 'A picture is starting to emerge'

Canadians are starting to get a sense of what federal budget cuts to the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade will mean for their diplomatic presence abroad, but several crucial pieces are still missing, says the president of Canada's foreign service officers' association. (...more)

Canada to host international nuclear terrorism simulation in Toronto

Government, police, and nuclear safety officials are gathering in Toronto this week to take part in a simulation that will test the response to a downtown terrorist attack involving a nuclear weapon. (...more)

Accountability questions arise in cross-border policing law

Public Safety outlines safeguards; NDP MP Brian Masse wants amendments studied as separate bill.

The Harper government's plan to permanently legalize the ability of certain American agents to cross the border and enforce Canadian law in shared waterways will include aerial police surveillance over land, raising several questions over national jurisdiction and police accountability in the minds of opposition and academic observers. (...more)

March perimeter security deadlines quietly pass

Another set of self-imposed deadlines in the Canada-United States perimeter security plan passed last month, with the Harper government providing few specifics about how the bureaucrats hammering out the plan are making out. (...more)

NDP wants new cross-border police law studied separately

Budget bill contains amendments to entrench a Canada-US maritime law enforcement project called Shiprider.

The NDP is calling on the Harper government to yank amendments it has bundled with its budget bill, ones that pave the way for Canadian and United States maritime officials to operate in each other’s territory, and present them as separate legislation. (...more)

Canadian business groups pan Indian tax law changes

High commissioner defends changes as legal move to close tax loopholes.

Associations representing Canadian business interests are lending their voice to the international chorus condemning proposals in the Indian government's federal budget, saying the changes could put a damper on foreign investment. (...more)

The North Policy Briefing

I curated and compiled Embassy's briefing on the North, featuring the following pieces:

Q&A with Northwest Territories Premier Bob McLeod: Northwest Territories-run royalty regime needed

Nunavut Premier Eva Aariak: Nunavut on the front lines of climate change Centre for Military and Strategic Studies associate director Rob Huebert: As Arctic opens, links to conflict regions grow

Inuit Circumpolar Council (Canada) president Duane Smith: Build on indigenous successes in Arctic Council

Danish Ambassador Erik Vilstrup Lorenzen: Denmark's co-operation in Arctic at new heights

Finnish Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja: Finland sees diplomacy warm as ice melts

Icelandic Ambassador Thórdur Aegir Óskarsson: Iceland's direct interest in stable Arctic development

NDP MP Dennis Bevington: Time to outline our Arctic Council agenda

Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett: Underinvestment in Northern communities the greatest threat to Arctic sovereignty

Leadership in the Arctic increasingly crowded

New Afghan envoy wants private-sector deal

Afghanistan's mission in Ottawa wants to shed its image of donor dependency by building lasting links with Canadian businesses, including mining firms, and signing a bilateral "private sector agreement," says its new ambassador. (...more)

Northwest Territories-run royalty regime needed: Premier

Embassy's Q&A with Premier Bob McLeod.

The Northwest Territories wants to develop its infrastructure, exploit its natural resources, and grow its coastal communities, but its hindered by its lack of a royalty regime or a federal infrastructure partnership, says its premier. (...more)

Leadership in the Arctic increasingly crowded

As Canada prepares to chair the Arctic Council in 2013, militaries add another layer to global Northern strategizing.

With the addition of a military leaders conference, global leadership focused on the Arctic is now a little more crowded. On April 12 and 13, military leaders from the eight Arctic Council states met for the first time at a Canadian base in Newfoundland and Labrador. (...more)

Mexican envoy warns against abandoning North American idea

Perimeter plan representative of less efficient bilateral approach, he argues.

Mexico's ambassador to Canada is warning that the perimeter plan to integrate border security and regulatory rules between Canada and the United States represents one of many less efficient bilateral approaches to North America that could ultimately kill the benefits NAFTA brought to all three countries. (...more)

DND, MacKay tight-lipped on cuts

Defence industry gives mixed reaction: unhappy with procurement pushback, pleased with marine commitment.

Budget 2012 shrinks the Department of National Defence's budget by billions of dollars, and pushes back spending on new pieces of equipment, but observers are calling on the Harper government to release more details. (...more)

TPP dreams hit Obama reality at Three Amigos summit

Tories promise new Global Commerce Strategy.

The 2012 federal budget promises a refreshed Global Commerce Strategy in 2013 that focuses on new "priority" markets—but after Canada received an American cold shower over its Trans-Pacific Partnership aspirations, it's clear at least one new objective won't come easy. (...more)

Prime minister of Poland plans to visit Canada in May

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk is planning to visit Canada in May, a diplomatic official has confirmed. (...more)