Mr. Speaker, I rise to respond to the question put to the House by the member for Windsor West regarding the delay of Canada's first responders at the border.
I must point out that the hon. member and all of his caucus has voted against every budgetary item that has come before this House in the last three years to improve border crossings in Canada and the United States.
I would like to highlight that Canada and the United States have a longstanding tradition of helping one another in times of crises. This government takes any incident where lives are at risk very seriously and I share the hon. member's concerns about maintaining this proud tradition of cooperation.
The Canada Border Services Agency and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection both work with first responders to contribute to their procedures for emergency situations. This important, reciprocal commitment by our border agencies protects both Canadian and U.S. citizens living in our border communities.
As the hon. member knows, this collaboration is critical in border communities like his own. No one wishes any repeats of the ambulance service interruption that occurred last year. That is why our government took immediate action to ensure that further incidents involving emergency vehicles along our border are prevented.
The Minister of Public Safety wrote to the U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Michael Chertoff, on this topic and spoke with him about the concern that Canada's first responders be able to provide fast, effective emergency services to communities on both sides of the Canada-United States border.
The Minister of Public Safety received a response from Secretary Chertoff who shares his concern over this situation. The secretary assured the minister that the U.S. CBP is disseminating additional guidance on this issue to prevent further incidents. The secretary also expressed his belief that the U.S. western hemisphere travel initiative will not affect the ability of emergency personnel to respond to emergencies in either Canada or the United States.
At the Minister of Public Safety's request, the Canada Border Services Agency engaged its counterparts locally with the U.S. on this issue and meetings have taken place at the headquarters and regional levels between the border agencies and local first responders. These ongoing discussions recognize that mutual assistance contribute to the safety of communities on both sides of the border and is a top priority for both countries.
Canada's government has taken decisive action to address the question of border delays that prevent our first responders from providing critical emergency services.