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Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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U.S.-Canada: Who cares about closed border?When I learned for the first time that the U.S.-Canada border might be closed for anyone but those with valid international passports and/or visas when necessary, I thought it was a bad joke. Declaring such a policy is one thing, but enforcing it along the 5,500-mile (9,000-kilometer) border is something very different. The fears for terrorists reaching the U.S. territory through Canada however is stronger than the conventional wisdom. My preliminary research shows that the groups of people that will suffer will be precisely those who have nothing to do with the international terrorism. On the other hand, this measure may unexpectedly lead to strengthening the Canadian federation, if it still does exist after the next Quebec referendum on independence. Introducing a strict border control between the U.S. and Canada and making the border impenetrable for the 'bad people' is as easy as building an international border between Maryland and Virginia. It doesn't make the enterprise impossible; it just creates another bureaucratic obstacle before the 'good people' without significantly reducing the threats from those wanted for security reasons. Any country has a right to protect its territory and its citizens, and thus the U.S. has sovereign right to impose any kind of restrictions it deems necessary along its Canadian border. Let's look what will happen once these measures are introduced?
Tourism will suffer in both directionsPeople will travel for pleasure less, and the reason will be that the costs of traveling will increase, both in terms of time and money. The Americans who visit Canada will need passports, not because they will be required on the Canadian side, but because they will be the only way to prove their citizenship when they try to return home. The Canadians will also need passports when entering the U.S. The cost of passport isn't prohibitive, but for people constantly going back and forth this will mean having new passports on regular basis when the pages are filled with border stamps. The process of verifying the IDs and stamping the passports will take some time, making the border crossing very unpleasant experience for both Americans and Canadians. All these factors will make the tourism suffer in both directions. It's arguable which side will lose more, but one thing is certain, there will be no winners.
Trade will suffer alsoThere is a billion-a-day trade across the border, and trucks take some of it, which shouldn't be of big surprise to anyone. Truck driving is an extremely difficult profession despite the appearances. Many drivers die on the road before retirement and the constant need to fill the job vacancies is getting bigger and bigger. Many new migrants in both the U.S. and Canada exercise this job, especially those with poor language skills in early years of their residencies. Many of them aren't yet U.S. or Canadian citizens, meaning they cross the borders with other country's passports. Will they be exempted from the tougher border control? Should they reapply for visa every time they try to cross the border? What about the businesspersons with other counties' passports that live and work legally in the U.S. or Canada? One thing is certain; anything that makes them more difficult to do their job will hurt the economies of both countries. Which country will suffer more? Again it's arguable, and the right answer is probably that they will suffer both.
Terrorists will laughThe image of the 'standard' terrorist, a young male with Middle-Eastern appearance, bearing Gulf country passport full with Pakistani and Afghani border stamps dated before September 2001 is certainly someone who will provoke the border guards attention in any country, not just the U.S. or Canada. Person with such highly suspicious profile, and especially if his intentions aren't good, won't try to enter the U.S. through any official border points. If the country he's coming from is Canada, still unclear how he will get there unnoticed but through the North Pole, he will have plenty of methods to go to the U.S. without even meeting any border guard. Anyone who has slightest knowledge about this long and mostly unprotected border knows well how this can be done. Making the border really impenetrable isn't only a technical problem; it isn't only a financial problem either. This will imply turning both the U.S. and Canada into police states, where everyone will spy on everyone and inform the omnipotent state on any suspicious activity or a presence of strangers. Do you find it possible?Unless this is done, the only tangible effects of the new border regulation will affect the law-abiding persons from both sides of the border. They will go through the authorized cross-points only, they will apply and reapply for specific Ids and visas if and when necessary, they will jam the borders, and they will lose time and money. Those these new measures are supposed to tackle will find many alternative ways to get through. An unexpected byproduct of this new enterprise will be that the Canadian federation will be strengthened. The different provinces, instead of 'free riding' with their closest American states, will find mandatory to join closer their forces for common economic development. What Ottawa finds difficult to do will be done partly by Washington. Soyons positives! (Let's be positive!)
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