A new report meant to boost Canada's global standing urges the nation to work with the United States to patrol Arctic waters, by expanding the role of the North American Aerospace Defence Command.

"Open Canada: A Global Positioning Strategy for a Networked Age" calls for Canada to combine forces with the U.S. on security matters, while moving away financially from its now-declining trade partner.

"This has become a geopolitically strategic area of the world in a way it's never been before," said former Globe and Mail editor Edward Greenspon, who chaired the panel that prepared the report for the Canadian International Council, a member-based foreign affairs think-tank.

"We've been partners in defence with the United States for many, many years in the air -- all we're saying is, let's extend that to the seas as well," Greenspon told CTV News Channel's Power Play.

Open Canada: A Global Positioning Strategy for a Networked Age from Canadian International Council on Vimeo.

An expanded NORAD agreement "is not a radical thing," he added, noting both countries suggested such changes in 2006, though they never followed through. "We've said, next time we come out to negotiate, let's do that."

The report released Tuesday "is looking out as a visionary document," Greenspon said. "Strategically, where does Canada have to be... two to 10 years from now?"

The 96-page paper challenges current thinking on many issues and pushes for drastic changes in the way Canada relates to the world -- particularly the U.S. and the "new growth engines" of China, India, Brazil and soon, Mexico.

Otherwise, the document warns, the nation could be left permanently in the dust.

"I'm sure a lot of the things that seem a little bit provocative today are going to be very conventional wisdom over time," Greenspon said.

Recommendations include proposals to further merge with the U.S. through land swaps and jointly manned border posts.

At the same time, the report encourages Canada to build stronger ties with the rising powers in Asia and become the first country to secure a dual-citizenship agreement with China.

"If the United States is in decline, we need to have advantages in Asia -- and one of the greatest advantages we have is this human bridge to Asia," Greenspon said in reference to Canada's large Asian population.

"The solutions offered by our panel crackle with freshness and realism," CIC president Jennifer Jeffs said in a statement. "They are not weighed by prejudice and politics. They represent the voice of a new generation of leaders."