BULLYING TACTICS AT U.S. BORDER WON'T HELP

The Bush administration is waving a big diplomatic stick at Canada. White
House drug "czar" John P. Walters says U.S. border agents will intensify
routine searches of people and goods entering the U.S. if Canada follows
through on recent proposals to end criminal penalties for possession of
small amounts of marijuana.

This U.S. threat is designed to get our attention, indeed, to scare us.
"Ensuring access to the U.S. market is, arguably, the single most important
policy consideration facing Canada in the coming decade," says Anne Golden,
president and CEO of the Conference Board of Canada, reflecting a consensus
among business groups.

But there's no place in Canada-U.S. relations for this kind of bullying,
and no need for it, either. We're not a U.S. state; we're a sovereign country.

Every country, of course, is wise to consider domestic policy issues in the
context of their real-world implications. But Canadian law is supposed to
reflect Canadian values and the evolution of those values. As it is,
600,000 Canadians have criminal records for simple cannabis possession and
are effectively barred from the U.S

Mr. Walter's threat borders on the vulgar, not to say insulting. From this
side of the border, we see it as emblematic of the simplistic approach of
the U.S. in its so-called War on Drugs - a war, it's worth noting, that has
plenty of critics within the U.S.

Canadians need not hasten to bend to this clumsy American pressure, because
the U.S. government should see the folly of this tactic soon enough.

For one thing, there's no real reason to believe that decriminalization
will lead to more smuggling of drugs; marijuana markets in both countries
seem to be amply supplied already. And even at the current level of
spot-checking and other enforcement, anyone caught carrying marijuana into
the U.S., in large amounts or small, with or without decriminalization
here, should expect to bear the full consequences of U.S. justice. And
longer delays at the border - whatever the reason - would be costly for
both countries.

As we have said before, decriminalization makes sense for Canada. We don't
insist that the Americans also decriminalize; they should avoid insisting, too.

So we would like to see the Americans take a deep breath (of fresh air) and
calm down a little. There are many border issues these days; they all
demand thoughtful discussion. Bullying tactics won't help.