News Release

National 2008

Canada and Japan to deploy border officers to each other's country

Ottawa, Ontario, June 17, 2008 -- The Honourable Stockwell Day, Minister of Public Safety, today announced that Canada and Japan will be placing border officers at key strategic locations in each other's country by the end of this year. This initiative is aimed at increasing marine security while ensuring the smooth flow of legitimate trade.

"Canada's successful approach to container security is based on an improved awareness of what is being shipped into the country and detecting and interdicting threats as early as possible, even before high-risk shipments leave foreign ports,” said Minister Day. "Increased cooperation with Japan, which has the second-largest world economy, will help ensure that Canada's border is the last line of defence and not the first.”

Under the Container Security Initiative (CSI) partnership, border officers from Japan and Canada will work in each other's country to coordinate the examination of high-risk containers before they leave the foreign port, to share information about any potential security threats and to promote data quality, which will improve each country's overall risk-assessment abilities.

Yukiyasu Aoyama, Director General of the Japan Customs and Tariff Bureau, who, along with Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) President Alain Jolicoeur, signed the Memorandum of cooperation on container security in Ottawa on June 5, 2008, also highlighted the importance of countries working together to achieve a higher level of marine security and trade.

"The CSI partnership will further strengthen the close cooperation between Japan Customs and the Canada Border Services Agency,” said Mr. Aoyama. "As trading partners, we recognize the importance of safeguarding marine shipments, which will facilitate both maritime trade between Japan and Canada and global maritime trade.”

"Through ongoing vigilance, innovation and investments, the Government of Canada is ensuring that Canada's marine ports are among the safest in the world. Today's announcement is an example of how Canada is also working internationally to ensure the integrity of the marine trade chain,” added Minister Day.

The CSI is a multinational program designed to protect marine trade from terrorism. It builds on the success of other CBSA initiatives and strategies, including using advance information, intelligence, sophisticated data-collection networks and the latest technology. Canada has similar CSI partnerships with the United States, South Africa and Panama. 

More information about the CSI is available at www.cbsa.gc.ca.

-30-

For media information:

Mélisa Leclerc
Director of Communications
Office of the Honourable Stockwell Day
Minister of Public Safety
613-991-2863

CBSA Media Relations (Headquarters)