Pubdate: Wed, 20 Oct 2004
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2004 The Ottawa Citizen
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Janice Tibbetts, The Ottawa Citizen
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/ashcroft.htm (Ashcroft, John)

DRUGS, GUNS ON TABLE FOR ASHCROFT'S CANADIAN VISIT

Fighting gun, drug and human trafficking along the Canada-U.S. border will 
be key agenda items when U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft heads to 
Ottawa this week to meet with his Canadian counterparts and dozens of law 
enforcement officials.

It will be the second visit in less than two weeks from senior members of 
the Bush administration: Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge came to 
Canada last week to discuss border security with Public Security Minister 
Anne McLellan.

Mr. Ashcroft will meet with Ms. McLellan and Justice Minister Irwin Cotler.

He will also address the Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Crime Forum, which was 
created in 1997 to examine trafficking as well as high-tech crime, abducted 
children, money laundering, and other shared crime issues.

The forum includes several law enforcement agencies, such as the FBI, the 
RCMP, border agencies, and provincial and municipal police forces. "Having 
these sorts of meetings, where you bring together law enforcement but also 
ministers, helps to ensure collaboration," said Ms. McLellan's spokesman, 
Alex Swann. "Certainly information sharing is always key."

A spokesperson for Mr. Ashcroft's office could not be reached for details 
on his speech, which he will deliver to the forum on Friday after meeting 
privately with Ms. McLellan and Mr. Cotler.

But on his last trip to Canada in July 2002, Mr. Ashcroft said he would 
like to see Canada loosen restrictions to allow armed American law 
enforcement officers to pursue suspects in Canada. 
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