The purpose of the three-day conference is to solidify relationships.

WASHINGTON (AP) – Two years after the terrorist attacks, border security and its effect on trade remains a key issue between New England states and their Canadian neighbors.

At a meeting in Connecticut this weekend, governors from the six New England states and premiers from five Canadian provinces will meet to discuss regional issues ranging from trade and the environment to the recent electrical blackout.

“It is better to resolve these issues regionally than wait until they come up at the national level,” Canadian Ambassador Michael Kergin said Thursday in an interview at the embassy. “We have been reviewing how we’re doing insuring the security on the border, and doing it in an intelligent way” that doesn’t handicap trade.

Since both countries depend on each other for exports, Canadian and American authorities have been trying to tighten the northern border without tying up truckloads of merchandise.

Part of that plan includes new, so-called “FAST lanes” that will be set up for certain low-risk carriers who go through a clearance process and in some cases carry monitors that allow authorities to tell if the truck’s weight or route has changed.

FAST lanes are scheduled to open this December at several border crossings in Vermont and Maine.

“The last time the conference was here in Connecticut, two years ago, it was prior to Sept. 11, and the world has changed immensely since then,” said John Wiltse, spokesman for Connecticut Gov. John Rowland, who is co-chairman of the gathering.

Kergin said the main goal of the three-day conference in Groton is to solidify relationships between U.S. and Canadian leaders. But he also said last month’s power outage, that swept across eight states and sections of Canada, will be discussed as both countries come to grips with possible system improvements.

“We’re a huge supplier of energy (to the U.S.) and it’s important that there is a reliability of supply,” said Kergin. “We want to keep the customer happy.”

He said Canada is staying neutral in the prescription drug debate that has consumed Congress. As more and more people cross the border to buy cheaper drugs in Canada, Kergin said his country has no problem with it, as long as the purchases are legal.

“We see this as a U.S. issue,” he said. “We feel our drug approval systems are comparable. Our record is pretty good.”

He added that while some U.S. drug companies have threatened to cut back on their drug exports to Canada to scale back the problem, none have followed through.

Senior citizens have traveled across the border by the busload to buy their prescriptions in Canada, where prices are much cheaper.

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