Privacy, civil liberties groups issue statement of principles on Canada-U.S. perimeter agreement

Ottawa, Montreal and Vancouver – In advance of today’s anticipated Canada-U.S. border deal signing in Washington, D.C., FIPA and seven other Canadian civil liberties groups have released a 12-point statement of principles they hope will help guide public and parliamentary debate in the months to come.

The joint statement of principles was developed over the past few months and represents basic concerns with the trade-off expected behind the anticipated deal.

“Past efforts to harmonize security measures across the border in an effort to ease the flow of goods and trade have suffered from a large democratic deficit and excessive influence from parties with a direct financial interest in continued or improved access to the U.S. market,” says the statement.

“Not one initiative or recommendation in the border action plan should be implemented or substantially negotiated with the United States prior to an extended public and parliamentary debate in Canada.”

LINK to full news release, Statement of Principles and contact information for the signing groups click here.