Washington Notebook: DHS chief talks with Canadian counterparts

Trade, travel and security on bilateral agenda.    U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson concluded Tuesday a two-day trip to Ottawa, where he met with Prime Minister Stephen Harper and members of his cabinet to discuss anti-terrorism cooperation and ongoing implementation of the Beyond the Border initiative.
   Beyond the Border is a three-year-old bilateral effort led by Harper and President Obama to improve North American economic growth, and streamline border processes to facilitate trade and harmonize regulations.
   Among the programs discussed was a truck cargo pre-inspection pilot at the Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Fort Erie under which U.S. Customs officers check commercial vehicles on Canadian soil to reduce wait times and border congestion at the Buffalo plaza.
   Johnson also met with Canadian Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, Public Safety Minister Steven Blaney, and Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander to review how to further enhance information sharing, integrate cross-border law enforcement operations and other topics.
   Earlier in the day, he addressed the Canadian American Business Council.
   Johnson was accompanied by Alan Bersin, the assistant secretary for international affairs. The former Customs commissioner was the exclusive guest on an American Shipper webcast two weeks ago where he talked about Beyond-the-Border accomplishments and the importance of collaboration to support trade growth. (Listen an audio recording of the Bersin webinar here.)