Tagged: Canada

State Assemblyman Sean Ryan was joined by State Senator Mark Grisanti on Saturday, as the pair announced legislation that would dissolve the bi-national entity that manages the Peace Bridge.

Not only are shoppers from southern Ontario a familiar sight in western New York, recently there has been a growing list of Canadian companies moving to the region, as well.

The Canadian government says it will maintain a consular presence in Buffalo, even though the downtown Consulate in the HSBC Tower is slated to close. 

Senator Charles Schumer says he has been in contact with government officials, trying to get them to reverse what he calls a "poor decision."  Around 75 people worked on two floors in the tower. The Consulate's immigrant section closed in June.

While its still on track to close next week, Schumer says Foreign Minister John Baird has agreed to keep a consular presence in the Queen City through a smaller liaison office. 

Economic opportunity and security challenges along the northern border were among the issues discussed during an Congressional Field Hearing in Buffalo today. 

Representative Brian Higgins, the Ranking Member of the House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Counterterrorism and Intelligence arranged the hearing.  Erie County Emergency Management Commissioner Dan Neaverth and Niagara County Sheriff James Voutour were among the witnesses called to testify at Buffalo's Federal Courthouse. 

Though it seems Washington doesn't always appreciate problems along the border with Canada, the director of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement says his agency is constantly monitoring the many sensitive cross-border issues.

John Morton passed through Buffalo from Washington and then down to the Mexican border later that afternoon.

He says there is nothing on his desk about changing border crossings in this area, although he preached joint border inspections like those long proposed for the border with Canada.

Federal prosecutors are seeking to bring nearly two-dozen Canadians here for trial, as they announced a series of arrests in a cross-border computer-based scam.

At a late afternoon news conference Tuesday in Buffalo, U.S. Attorney William Hochul said the scam went right across the U.S. targeting people in need of some cash to deal with the financial crises of hard times.

"There was a request for an upfront payment," said Hochul.         

CBC News is reporting that the Canadian Consulate office in Buffalo will be closing. The Canadian government says the closing is due to budget cuts and changes in immigration rules.

The main function of the Buffalo office was to help foreign students and temporary workers extend their visas to stay in Canada, but that will now be handled online and in immigration offices in Canada. Other consular functions in the Buffalo office will be transferred to New York City.

The Canadian doctor who faced charges in the US of smuggling drugs and human growth hormone across the border has been cleared of charges up north.

Canadian authorities have issued a stay against Dr. Anthony Galea, the sports doctor known to have treated Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods and other high-profile athletes.

Galea was given a year of unsupervised release in US courts and faces no prison time.
 

Business Technology & Resource Group, or BTRG for short, was established in 1993 and is headquartered in Mississaugua, Ontario.  Already having done business with some major employers in Buffalo, including Delaware North Companies, BTRG has chosen the Queen City for its U.S. headquarters.