GOOD BORDERS MAKE GOOD NEIGHBOURS

Before Canada rushes into negotiations to open up its border with the
United States, there are a few facts worth considering:

The murder rate in the U.S. is 8.4 per 100,000. The Canadian rate is 2.2
per 100,000.

Guns are involved in 66 per cent of all homicides in the United States. In
Canada, the figure is 27 per cent.

Buying a gun is easy and legal in most states of the U.S. In Canada,
handguns are illegal for civilians and other firearms are strictly controlled.

Despite the efforts of Canada Customs, thousands of guns are smuggled into
Canada every year. Half of the firearms recovered from crimes in this
country originate in the U.S.

If Ottawa wants to give gunrunners a break, one of the best ways would be
to relax border controls.

This is just one example of the unintended consequences of easing customs
restrictions to create what U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick calls
"a North American community."

Canada, the U.S. and Mexico took the first step, this week, by creating a
trilateral task force to move beyond free trade into new areas of
integration. Trade ministers from the three countries hailed this advance
in cross-border co-operation.

But Canadians need to know what this new venture entails and how far their
government is prepared to go.

If the task force is merely looking at ways to cut line-ups and reduce
hassles at border crossings, most Canadians would have no objection. No one
benefits from clogged roads and long delays at ports of entry between
countries. No one wants costly trade blockages.

But Ottawa needs to be extremely careful what it harmonizes.

The two countries have very different immigration policies. Canada would
not want to adopt the U.S. practice of turning migrants away at the border,
without a hearing.

They have different tax systems. The Canadian government would lose
millions of dollars in revenue if Canadians could avoid the GST by shopping
in the U.S.

They have different attitudes toward drugs. Canada has just sanctioned the
medicinal use of marijuana, while two parliamentary committees look at the
possibility of decriminalizing cannabis. The U.S. is still conducting a
full-scale war on drugs.

And Canada certainly doesn't share the U.S. belief that citizens have a
constitutional right to bear arms. Toronto's recent spate of shootings has
sent shock waves through the community.

Immigration Minister Elinor Caplan has assured Canadians that their values,
laws and sovereignty are not at stake. But once a border is open, it's hard
to control what comes in.