02/16/2022 03:15 PM House LABOR & COMMERCE

         SJR 15-RECOGNIZING ALASKA/CANADA RELATIONSHIP                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:24:13 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  SPOHNHOLZ announced  that the  first order  of business                                                               
would  be  SENATE  JOINT  RESOLUTION   NO.  15,  Recognizing  and                                                               
honoring  the  relationship between  Canada  and  the state;  and                                                               
recognizing  the importance  of  the United  States-Mexico-Canada                                                               
Agreement.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
3:24:39 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
SENATOR  TOM  BEGICH,  Alaska State  Legislature,  as  the  prime                                                               
sponsor, introduced SJR 15.  He  explained that SJR 15 relates to                                                               
the  Alaska/Canada  relationship  and  comes  from  a  series  of                                                               
discussions  that began  some years  ago with  Bandon Lee,  then-                                                               
consul general of Canada.   He further explained that as co-chair                                                               
of  the  Council  for  State  Governments  (CSG),  Canada-America                                                               
Relations  Committee,  he  works with  his  Canadian  counterpart                                                               
[Nathan Neudorf, Member of the  Legislative Assembly] of Alberta.                                                               
During committee  discussions about the relationship  between the                                                               
two  nations,  he  related,  he   drove  down  about  the  unique                                                               
relationship  between  Alaska  [and  Canada], much  of  which  is                                                               
embedded in SJR 15.                                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
3:26:58 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
TREVOR   BAILEY,  Staff,   Senator  Tom   Begich,  Alaska   State                                                               
Legislature, on  behalf of Senator  Begich, prime sponsor  of SJR
, presented the sponsor statement.  He spoke from the sponsor                                                                  
statement, which read [original punctuation provided]:                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
     Senate  Joint  Resolution  15 honors  the  relationship                                                                    
     shared  between  Canada  and  Alaska.  Canada  and  the                                                                    
     United States  share the world's longest  border, 5,522                                                                    
     miles1,538  of  which is shared  with just  Alaska, the                                                                    
     Yukon Territory, and the Province of British Columbia.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Canada  and Alaska  are both  rich  in natural  beauty,                                                                    
     abundant  renewable resources,  indigenous peoples  and                                                                    
     cultures,  history, and  government  ties.  We share  a                                                                    
     border, airspace,  and environment. Together  we defend                                                                    
     North America against external threats.                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
     Our people  share families, friends,  jobs, and  one of                                                                    
     the most successful  international relationships in the                                                                    
     modern  world.  We  move  goods  and  transport  people                                                                    
     between our  border regularly.  Our cruise  and tourism                                                                    
     industries   are  dependent   on   each  other's.   The                                                                    
     Northwest Passage is our shared gateway to the Arctic.                                                                     
                                                                                                                                
     Together we  have built longstanding  collaborations on                                                                    
     economic  opportunities,   health,  education,  energy,                                                                    
     security,  environmental  protections,  infrastructure,                                                                    
     and  public safety  issues. We  have worked  to advance                                                                    
     and  sustain the  health and  resiliency of  the Arctic                                                                    
     and  northern  communities by  strengthening  economic,                                                                    
     cultural, and family connections across the region.                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
     Trade between  our countries  totals over  $1.3 billion                                                                    
     across  multiple industries  and contributes  to nearly                                                                    
     11,000  jobs  between  us allowing  for  more  than  50                                                                    
     Canadian-owned companies to operate in Alaska.                                                                             
                                                                                                                                
     Our    interdependent    communities    are    uniquely                                                                    
     intertwined,  as is  [Joint] Base  Elmendorf-Richardson                                                                    
     (JBER) with its American  Commander and Canadian Deputy                                                                    
     Commander.                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
     Together,  Canada and  Alaska create  better lives  for                                                                    
     our respective  residents and citizens. This  should be                                                                    
     formally  recognized.  I   look  forward  to  continued                                                                    
     cooperation   friendship,   trade,   tourism,   culture                                                                    
     exchange, and good will between us.                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                
3:29:36 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
MIA YEN,  Consul General of  Canada, Consulate General  of Canada                                                               
in Seattle, testified  in support of SJR 15.   She recognized the                                                               
unique relationship between Canada and  Alaska and said Ms. Karen                                                               
Matthias,  Canada's Honorary  Consul to  Alaska, has  been a  key                                                               
link to  maintaining the strong  relationship between  Canada and                                                               
the Last Frontier.  She stated  that Canada and Alaska have a lot                                                               
in  common,   including  producing  energy   responsibly,  people                                                               
enjoying  rugged outdoor  spaces, and  sharing a  common culture.                                                               
In  2020 at  the height  of the  [COVID-19] pandemic,  Canada and                                                               
Alaska still  traded almost $1.4  billion in goods  and services,                                                               
supporting  thousands  of  jobs  on both  sides  of  the  border.                                                               
Almost 60  Canadian-owned companies  are in  Alaska and  these 60                                                               
companies account  for nearly 4,500 Alaskan  jobs that contribute                                                               
$265 million in salaries alone.                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                
MS. YEN pointed  out that Canada and the US  are friends, allies,                                                               
and  partners; are  bound together  by history,  values, economy,                                                               
and  environment; and  are  dependent on  each  other for  mutual                                                               
security  and  prosperity.    She  said  economically  Canada  is                                                               
America's biggest customer  by far, buying more from  the US than                                                               
China,  Japan, and  the United  Kingdom combined.   The  economic                                                               
relationship  of Canada  and the  US supports  millions of  well-                                                               
paying  jobs  in  every congressional  district  across  the  US.                                                               
Through  the United  States-Mexico-Canada  Agreement (USMCA)  the                                                               
US, Canada,  and Mexico  work to ensure  that North  America will                                                               
remain the most competitive region in the world.                                                                                
                                                                                                                                
MS. YEN further pointed out that  Canada and the US are steadfast                                                               
allies  in  defense of  the  two  countries while  partnering  on                                                               
global peace and  security, examples being JBER  in Anchorage and                                                               
the North American Aerospace Defense  Command (NORAD).  She noted                                                               
that  the US  is Canada's  premier  partner in  the Arctic,  with                                                               
longstanding  cooperation on  a wide  range of  issues, including                                                               
Arctic   science,   search    and   rescue,   continental   shelf                                                               
delineation, security, and  people-to-people connections.  Alaska                                                               
Natives  shared  family  and   traditional  lands  with  Canadian                                                               
Indigenous long before there were borders.                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS. YEN outlined some of  the joint challenges and cooperation in                                                               
managing the [COVID-19]  pandemic.  She stated  that rules around                                                               
cruise  ships and  the recent  vaccine requirements  for truckers                                                               
have caused concern and anxiety in  both countries.  The issue of                                                               
border measures  is currently  at the center  of a  lively public                                                               
debate  in   Canada,  touching  both   land  and   sea  transport                                                               
regulations.  A letter from  Alaska state legislators was sent to                                                               
Prime  Minister Trudeau  on the  implications of  the vaccination                                                               
requirement for truckers entering  Canada.  These health measures                                                               
bring  the trucking  industry  regulations  into conformity  with                                                               
domestic  and  US  government regulations,  she  said,  and  will                                                               
further strengthen Canada's impressive  record of vaccination and                                                               
low  rates of  COVID hospitalization  and  death.   The views  of                                                               
Alaskan  legislators are  being taken  very seriously  in Ottawa.                                                               
Just yesterday,  the government of  Canada announced a  series of                                                               
adjustments  to the  current  border  measures, representing  the                                                               
beginning  of  a  phased  easing of  travel  restrictions.    She                                                               
further noted that blockages of  the Canada/US Lower 48 border by                                                               
demonstrators have  been lifted.   [Canada's]  federal government                                                               
has invoked the  Emergencies Act to give new tools  to the police                                                               
and other authorities to prevent lingering blockages.                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
MS.  YEN said  Canada and  the  US have  worked together  despite                                                               
these  challenges to  ensure  the safety  and  security of  their                                                               
citizens  while  maintaining the  flow  of  essential groups  and                                                               
workers.  For  example, at the start of the  pandemic her Seattle                                                               
consulate  team facilitated  the transit  of many  legislators on                                                               
their way  home from the  capitol.   When the MV  Kennicott broke                                                               
down in  Juneau last summer,  agencies worked together  to ensure                                                               
that  the ferry's  passengers could  make it  safely through  the                                                               
Haines border crossing to their  destinations.  Canada and Alaska                                                               
also  worked  to  provide accommodations  for  the  residents  of                                                               
Hyder, Alaska, and Stewart,  British Columbia, remote communities                                                               
that are uniquely dependent on  each other for the necessities of                                                               
life.   The  State of  Alaska provided  vaccines to  residents of                                                               
Stewart  at a  clinic  in  Hyder, another  example  of good  will                                                               
between  close neighbors.   Ms.  Yen  thanked the  state for  its                                                               
generosity and partnership and offered her thanks for SJR 15.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
3:36:44 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
CO-CHAIR  SPOHNHOLZ  agreed  that  there's  a  robust  and  close                                                               
relationship  with   Canada,  particularly  between   Canada  and                                                               
Alaska.                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE  MCCARTY thanked  Ms. Yen  for her  comments.   He                                                               
said he is endeared to Canada  and that many Alaskans have a deep                                                               
relationship with Canada.                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                                
3:38:15 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
REPRESENTATIVE NELSON  offered his appreciation for  the Canadian                                                               
soldiers at  JBER.  He  requested Ms.  Yen to expand  upon cruise                                                               
ships on  the western  side of  Canada and  what that  might look                                                               
like over the next few years.                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS.  YEN replied  that  tomorrow she  is  meeting with  Transport                                                               
Canada  to learn  of any  plans.   The government  earlier issued                                                               
measures to lighten  border restrictions that will  take place at                                                               
the end of February.  Related  to cruise ships, she said a lively                                                               
debate is  taking place on an  urgent basis in Cabinet  but there                                                               
isn't much she can share at this time.                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                
3:40:35 PM                                                                                                                    
                                                                                                                                
KAREN MATTHIAS, Honorary  Consul for Canada, stated  she was born                                                               
and  raised  in  British  Columbia,  became  a  Canadian  foreign                                                               
service officer, and  after assignments in Ottawa  and Europe she                                                               
opened Canada's first consulate in Alaska  in 2004.  She said she                                                               
feels fortunate  to work in  a state  that has so  many important                                                               
issues  for Canada,  from energy  and the  environment to  Arctic                                                               
governance  to border  management  and  the defense  relationship                                                               
through NORAD.   These areas  and others  are covered in  SJR 15,                                                               
she noted.                                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                
MS.  MATTHIAS  specified  that people-to-people  connections  has                                                               
always been the  best part of her work in  Alaska.  Many Alaskans                                                               
have connection  to Canada through  family, work, or  travel, and                                                               
the  most  enduring  of  these  connections  has  been  with  the                                                               
Indigenous.   From  Metlakatla to  Kaktovik, she  has heard  many                                                               
stories  of family  connections and  treasured places  in Canada.                                                               
Given the  shared climate and  geography, there is much  to learn                                                               
from each other.  One of the  first visits she worked on was with                                                               
the premier  of the Northwest  Territories who came with  a group                                                               
of Indigenous  businesspeople interested  in learning  more about                                                               
the  Alaska  Native  Claims Settlement  Act  (ANCSA)  and  Alaska                                                               
Native  corporations.   More recently,  the Canadian  Minister of                                                               
Health,  in  relation to  the  COVID-19  pandemic, met  with  the                                                               
Southcentral Foundation  to learn  more about its  program called                                                               
Nuka System of Care, thinking it might be a model for Canada.                                                                   
                                                                                                                                
MS. MATTHIAS related that in  her capacity as honorary consul she                                                               
has been privileged to be  part of many cross-border events, like                                                               
the  Yukon Quest  and  the  Klondike Road  Relay.   Even  Olympic                                                               
athletes, hockey  players, and  cross-country skiers  are shared,                                                               
she continued.   She has visited the shared  border post building                                                               
on  Top  of the  World  Highway,  a  great example  of  US/Canada                                                               
federal cooperation in a very  isolated place.  Canadian visitors                                                               
always tell her how welcoming Alaskans  are to them and that they                                                               
feel at home in  Alaska.  She said she is  not the first Canadian                                                               
to marry  an Alaskan and  make her home in  Alaska.  She  and her                                                               
husband named their son Elias because  they like the name and the                                                               
symbolism of Alaska and Canada  sharing a border across Mount St.                                                               
Elias.  She thanked Senator Begich  for sponsoring SJR 15 and the                                                               
committee for hearing the resolution.                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                
[SJR 15 was held over.]