Canada pledges beefed-up border, immigration restrictions to appease Trump | U.S. & World [Video]

By Anna Mehler Paperny

TORONTO (Reuters) – Four Canadian ministers publicly unveiled on Tuesday a border security plan they had privately presented to U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, with an emphasis on surveillance, intelligence and technology.

Canadian ministers had an “encouraging” meeting with Trump’s border czar Tom Homan, Public Safety, Finance and Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc told reporters.

“I went through with Mr. Homan the information that we’re sharing with you today… I’m encouraged by that conversation and by conversations I’ve had with the incoming Secretary of Commerce, Howard Lutnick,” LeBlanc said.

LeBlanc and his colleagues announced Tuesday a plan to beef up the U.S.-Canada border with helicopters, drones, surveillance towers and sniffer dogs, as well as a “joint strike force” to target transnational organized crime.

The embattled minority government of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says it will invest C$1.3 billion ($909 million) toward border security over six years. The plan focuses …