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 9, 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.]