Mr. Speaker, I thank my hon. colleague for his question. There is no question about it. Trade with the United States represents a big part of the economy in my community. Nothing more exemplifies that than the little gadget produced by Research In Motion which, I just found out today, is being worn by every member of the United States congress. It is called a BlackBerry. It is worn by the members of the United States congress because it was one device that continued to function on September 11 when the cellphone airwaves were jammed. This is just one example. We have many industries in my community that very much rely on trade between Canada and the U.S.
The member is quite correct. If we were to allow the terrorist acts of September 11 to impair the economies of Canada and the United States then we certainly would be letting the terrorists win. I will say to the member that I have a great deal of sympathy for the idea of the Schengen agreement that was negotiated in the European Union.
I think we can come to some kind of arrangement to ease transborder traffic and I can also say to the member that in many cases the standards in Canada in terms of gaining access to the country are higher from a security perspective than they are in the United States. Clearly the member has touched upon an area that is of vital concern to both nations. I trust that it will be adequately addressed.