Last week, I was watching the news on TV and there was a story on a report from the United States Congress. A U.S. Senator was trying to scare people about the Canada-U.S. border. He was making it sound as if Canada was a threat to U.S. security. The hearing got so ridiculous at one point, when another U.S. Senator claimed that terrorists came over from Canada into Buffalo, New York. He seems to have confused what happened on a fictional TV show (the West Wing) with the real world.

While American ignorance of what really goes on in the world is nothing new, I wondered how many Canadians know what is being done to make sure we have safe and secure borders. The following is a partial list of action taken by the Conservative government to keep Canada safe. We have:

Invested $430 million in border infrastructure and security upgrades.

Armed our border officers and hired 400 new officers to eliminate dangerous “work-alone” situations.

Added 1,000 new RCMP personnel to address federal policing priorities such as: fighting drugs, smuggling and enhancing border security.

Invested $19.5 million in RCMP Integrated Border Enforcement Teams (IBETS), strategically located along the border to disrupt cross-border smuggling.

On top of all of these measures, we have added $80 million to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) to help keep tabs on terrorists. We do take security very seriously in this government and we have no intention of taking it easy in regards to terrorism.

Finally, if you are ever talking to an American about our border security, remind them that people sneaking across the border going north is more of a problem than people heading south. Just remember to be polite when you remind them of this–you are, after all, Canadian.

I’m Brad Trost, your Member of Parliament in Saskatoon-Humboldt. You can call my office in Saskatoon at 975-6133, or drop by to visit our two offices one in Saskatoon (five days a week) and the other in the Humboldt mall (Tuesdays and Wednesdays). I always appreciate your feedback.