Making Progress: on the North American Leaders Summit

August 17, 2009

The North American Leaders Summit produced consensus and action on a range of significant issues. In particular, the summit’s environment discussions bore fruit. In a declaration signed by Mexican President Felipe Calderon, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, and U.S. President Barack Obama the three leaders agreed to work together on climate-change issues, including coordination of an emissions trading system. Both Canada and the United States vowed to implement national caps in which companies would cut emissions or purchase allowances. Canada has long argued for continental coordination on the environment, but this is the first emergence of a North American approach. According to reports, a new version of the Canadian government's climate-change plan will be released this fall and will be comparable to U.S. efforts.
 
Harper committed $15 million towards the Anti-Crime Capacity Building Program, which will support training for the Mexican police. The initiative is part of a cooperative North American security effort—another priority of the summit—focusing on fighting organized crime and drug cartels.

The prime minister also announced Emerging Leaders in the Americas Program to support Mexican scholars.
 
The Canadian government’s recent decision to apply new visa requirements to Mexican visitors was addressed by Prime Minister Harper. He explained the imposition of visitors’ visas on Mexicans stems from Canada’s need to reform laws regarding political asylum. He indicated that Canadian Parliament will be asked to amend the current system this fall.


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