U. S., Canada unveil joint border-security plan

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by Jerry Zremski, The Buffalo News

WASHINGTON — The U. S. and Canada on Tuesday announced their first-ever joint plan for preventing terrorist attacks and other threats at the bridges that link the two countries.

Under the plan, the U. S. Department of Homeland Security and Public Safety Canada will do joint threat assessments and improve the information flow between the two agencies to protect the infrastructure that connects the two nations.

“This is a shared vision of what we need to do to make sure our people remain safe,” Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said.

The new “Canada-U. S. Action Plan for Critical Infrastructure” stems from a December 2008 agreement by the two countries to work toward a more joint approach to border security.

Under the deal unveiled Tuesday, a “virtual Canada-U. S. Infrastructure Risk Analysis Cell” will be formed between the two agencies to share information and risk-management tools.

Read more: http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/07/14/1112483/u-s-canada-unveil-joint-border.html