Leaders from Canada, the US, the UK, Australia, and New Zealand are meeting in Quebec City this week to discuss collective immigration and border management issues.

The meeting is being hosted by Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Stephen Blaney. Leaders from each country’s immigration and border management organizations are expected to attend the four-day meeting.

“We are working with our international partners to ensure that our borders remain open gateways to freedom and prosperity, but closed barriers to criminals, terrorists and other threats,” said Minister Blaney.

Attendees will be sharing their experience and expertise on a range of topics, and will explore the possibility of collaborating on immigration and security issues. Some key initiatives of the conference include:

• Encouraging participating countries to use fingerprints and digital photographs to screen immigration applicants;
• Improving strategic information sharing to help countries facilitate genuine travelers; and
• Enhancing the security and efficiency of border services.