This story is a political bombshell and just goes to show how the Bush Administration is unilaterally destroying a formerly friendly relationship with Canada through sheer ignorance. When the former US Ambassador to Canada calls his country "childish" there's obviously a serious problem at the Dept. of Homeland Insecurities. What the hell is going on in the US these days?

CANOE -- CNEWS - Canada: U.S. decision to ditch talks on border plan raises questions about relations

WASHINGTON (CP) - There's an outcry on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border over an abrupt move by American officials to drop plans to pre-clear travellers and reduce costly congestion at land crossings.

Many are viewing it as a major black mark on bilateral relations since a co-operative measure publicly championed by the White House has been unceremoniously dumped by the Homeland Security Department.

It also belies a pervasive mistrust of Canada when it comes to security, say some U.S. observers.

"It's unacceptable to say it can't be figured out," former U.S. ambassador Gordon Giffin said Thursday from Calgary.

"The U.S. can't just throw up its hands. It's almost childish, like they're taking their marbles and going home," said Giffin, who served in Canada from 1997 to 2001.

He was involved in early discussions about moving U.S. Customs operations to Canadian soil at the Peace Bridge linking Ontario and New York.

"It's just not productive. For Pete's sake, we're working with Canada. We're not working with some Third World country."

New York Representative Louise Slaughter, a Democrat whose district includes the Buffalo crossing, is lobbying the White House to step in, saying the breakdown in talks reflects "a deeply flawed approach to the northern border" that includes the upcoming passport requirement.

Traffic tie-ups at the Peace Bridge have been a serious problem since the mid-1990s and got worse after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

The bridge linking Fort Erie, Ont., with Buffalo is the second busiest vehicle crossing and third when it comes to trade, carrying $20 billion Cdn a year.

"This is a big disappointment," said David Stewart-Patterson at the Canadian Council of Chief Executives in Ottawa.

"The whole notion of land border pre-clearance is really important. It moves congestion away from the border itself," said Stewart-Patterson, who raised the issue Thursday at a Commons committee.

Letting the plan drop for too long will delay progress on substantially beefing up infrastructure at the border to accommodate increased traffic, he said.

"We're squandering really, really valuable time," said Len Crispino, head of the Ontario Chamber of Commerce.

"It's extremely frustrating. It's time we stopped playing these cat and mouse games and move away from these choke points," Crispino said from Toronto.

"These kinds of actions are actually hurting the economy more than the delays themselves. It's the uncertainty of it all. We seem to be going sideways."

In a letter Thursday to Chertoff, the chamber urged him to reconsider and noted significant job losses linked to border delays.

Meantime, many are worried about diplomatic damage from an issue that goes to the heart of Canada-U.S. relations.