Canada should tighten screening and monitoring of visitors to prevent entry of terrorists, C.D. Howe study says.

Toronto, November 13, 2002 -- Canadian immigration authorities should toughen up screening and monitoring of visitors in order to prevent terrorists and criminals from joining the large numbers of visitors granted access to the country, says a C.D. Howe Institute Commentary published today.

In the Commentary, entitled "US and Canadian Immigration Policies: Marching Together to Different Tunes," Canadian immigration lawyer Peter Rekai compares Canadian and US immigration policies as viewed through the lens of an increasingly integrated and security-conscious North America in the post-September 11, 2001, era.

Rekai notes that while refugees now face more thorough checks and a greater likelihood of detention, the result of "such enhanced screening (may be that) sophisticated wrongdoers will be tempted to avoid this scrutiny in favour of joining the vast numbers of tourists, business travelers and international students that are granted generous access to North America."

He added that there have been no significant staff increases in overseas visa offices to assess visitor-visa applications nor does the federal government have any plans for closer monitoring of visa compliance. The United States, Rekai said, is far ahead of Canada in this regard.

Rekai said the solution is not to reduce the inflow of visitors or temporary workers. Rather, the Canadian government should devote more resources to ensuring visa compliance. Canada should improve its tracking systems and also place "greater responsibility and liability on the shoulders of the commercial and academic sectors, which are direct beneficiaries of the large influx of temporary entrants."

He said that "the United States and Canada share markedly similar problems" in the area of border security and should continue to work together in this area. However, while security requires that the United States and Canada move in tandem on a number of border issues, there is no compelling security rationale for Canada to harmonize its immigrant selection criteria. Canada should be able to continue to choose immigrants and foreign workers using different criteria than its neighbour.

The Commentary is part of a special C.D. Howe Institute series called "The Border Papers."

The Border Papers

"The Border Papers" is a special C.D. Howe Institute Commentary series examining specific policy challenges Canada faces as it moves toward deeper Western Hemispheric integration, beginning with the United States. The first paper in the series was "Shaping the Future of the North American Economic Space: A Framework for Action," by Wendy Dobson. The second paper looked at Canada-US defense issues, while a third examined North American currency issues. A fourth study examined dispute resolution in the NAFTA, and the fifth looked at Mexico and North American integration. This paper, the sixth, examines immigration policies in the United States and Canada. Others will explore such policy areas as tax policy, border issues and energy. The series will conclude with a capstone paper. Each paper will outline available options and offer policy recommendations. A central concern of the series is to answer the question, should deepening integration be managed incrementally or would a Big Idea better advance Canada's strategic interests? The Donner Canadian Foundation has generously provided financial support for the series. An independent Advisory Group provides guidance on the overall direction of The Border Papers. However, as with all C.D. Howe Institute publications, the opinions expressed in the series are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Advisory Group, whose members include:

Wendy Dobson (Chair)
University of Toronto

The Hon. Peter Lougheed
Bennett Jones LLP

The Hon. Donald S. Macdonald
UBS Bunting Warburg Inc.

Jack M. Mintz
C.D. Howe Institute

Reid Morden
RM&A

Roger Phillips
Corporate Director

Jeffrey Schott
Institute for International
Economics

Gustavo Vega
Brown University

Derek H. Burney
CAE

Clarence Chandran

Peter C. Godsoe
Bank of Nova Scotia

Michael Hart
Carleton University

Gary C. Hufbauer
Institute for International
Economics

The C.D. Howe Institute is Canada's leading independent, nonpartisan, nonprofit economic policy research institution. Its individual and corporate members are drawn from business, labor, agriculture, universities and the professions.

For further information, contact:

Marie Hubbs (media relations), C.D. Howe Institute
phone: [phone]; fax: [phone];
e-mail: [e-mail]; Internet: www.cdhowe.org

"US and Canadian Immigration Policies: Marching Together to Different Tunes," C.D. Howe Institute Commentary 171, by Peter Rekai (November 2002). 24 pp.; $12.00 (prepaid, plus postage & handling and GST--please contact the Institute for details). ISBN 0-88806-597-5.

Copies are available from: Renouf Publishing Company Limited, 5369 Canotek Road, Ottawa, Ontario K1J 9J3; or directly from the C.D. Howe Institute, 125 Adelaide Street East, Toronto, Ontario M5C 1L7. The full text of this publication is also available from the Institute's Internet website at www.cdhowe.org.