Canada-U.S. Border Pact Signed

Canada's border security is about to get a whole lot more American.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama have signed off on a (much-delayed) joint security deal that promises to overhaul how business at the border is conducted. Among the provisions will be:

• Harmonizing inspections at ports, such as Vancouver and Halifax, with counterparts in the U.S.;

• Canada will share more intelligence gathered by police forces with the U.S.;

• Stricter requirements for foreign citizens crossing the Canada-U.S. border;

• More scanners to detect bombs hidden in luggage at airports, border crossings.

As for the part of the deal that was supposed to help Canadian businesses get their goods across the border more expediently, well, that's going to have to wait a bit. Pre-screening programs for travellers and goods is expected to be rolled out by the end of 2012, but there are no hard and fast deadlines with the deal, nor is the deal even binding, as it's not a treaty. Ah well. You can't win all your battles, can you now?