NEWS RELEASES

January 13, 2005 (1 p.m. EST)
No. 7

CANADA INCREASES BUDGET FOR INTERNATIONAL BOUNDARY COMMISSION

Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Natural Resources Minister John Efford today announced that Canada has accepted the recommendation of an independent report to increase the annual budget of the Canadian Section of the International Boundary Commission to $2.4 million from the current $830,000.

“It is important that Canada maintain a recognizable boundary line that supports the effective enforcement of customs, immigration, national security and other laws in Canada,” said Minister Pettigrew. “I am pleased that we will fully implement the recommendation of the independent report on the future funding needs of the Commission.”

“The International Boundary Commission provides an essential service and must be funded accordingly,” said Minister Efford. “The additional funding will ensure that Canada will continue to meet its treaty obligations to mark, map and maintain the complete Canada-U.S. boundary.”

The International Boundary Commission is a bilateral treaty organization that is jointly funded by Canada and the U.S. It was created by a 1908 treaty to mark, map and maintain the land and water boundary between Canada and the U.S., and to regulate any construction within three metres of the international boundary. The Commission was established as the permanent caretaker of the boundary area through the Treaty of Washington in 1925.

In 2003, the Canadian and U.S. commissioners jointly undertook an independent report to assess the state of maintenance of the boundary and to make recommendations to ensure “an effective boundary line” as called for in the treaties. The resulting report, dated February 2004, called on the Canadian government to increase the annual budget of the Canadian Section of the International Boundary Commission from the current $830,000 to $2.4 million for 2005-2006 to 2009-2010. The Canadian government will fully implement this recommendation.

For more information on the International Boundary Commission, visit http://www.internationalboundarycommission.org.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sébastien Théberge
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada and International Trade Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca

Ghyslain Charron
Media Relations
Natural Resources Canada
(613) 992-4447