News Release – Readout of today’s meeting between Secretary Napolitano and Minister Kenney

Washington, July 8, 2010 — Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Minister Jason Kenney today met to discuss a range of bilateral immigration issues. The goal of the discussion was to find additional ways of cooperating to enhance the integrity of both countries’ immigration systems and expedite legitimate travel and commerce between the two nations.

“The partnership between the United States and Canada is critical to promoting national security and economic growth in both of our nations,” said Secretary Napolitano. “Minister Kenney and I are committed to working together to develop and implement border security and immigration measures and standards that help ensure the safety and security of our citizens.”

“Canada’s longstanding geographic, economic and social ties with the United States are a source of strength for both countries,” said Minister Kenney. “By sharing information and working together we can redefine approaches to identifying and screening travellers to expedite the flow of individuals moving legitimately across our borders, while protecting against those who would threaten our shared peace and prosperity.”

During the meeting, Secretary Napolitano and Minister Kenney discussed the progress that has been made since they last met in May 2009—including ongoing work toward the completion of a thorough comparison of admissibility criteria and screening procedures conducted jointly by DHS and CIC, which will lead to improvements in cross-border coordination and information sharing. 

They also signed a Terms of Reference to formalize the long-standing Visa Policy Working Group—institutionalizing this joint forum supported by DHS, the U.S. Department of State and CIC, designed to enhance bilateral consultations and information sharing about visa, admissibility, and screening policies.

Additionally, Secretary Napolitano and Minister Kenney identified further opportunities for information sharing and collaboration relating to immigration and refugee policies and the traveller registration and identity verification process and discussed future approaches to screening travellers.

For more information, visit www.dhs.gov or www.cic.gc.ca.

For further information (media only), please contact:

Media Relations
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
613-952-1650
CIC-Media-Relations@cic.gc.ca

Press Office
Department of Homeland Security
202-282-8010

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