11 April 2005

The border: Perimeter vs. passports

The following article is excerpted from the 9 April 2005 edition of the “Windsor Star”.

Windsorites must feel they've been screaming into the wind. In the nearly four years since 9-11 turned North America's busiest crossing into a congested nightmare, this city has warned anyone who'd listen that the border and its feeder streets desperately need to be unclogged. But it's now apparent no one at the top has listened to Windsor's cries. Or if they have, they're ignoring them.

Two major stories this week make it clear neither Washington nor Ottawa intend to ease restrictions at the Canada-U.S. divide in favour of tougher checks at the continent's perimeter, as we've long advocated.

First, the U.S. government announced Tuesday it will require anyone entering the United States by land from Canada or Mexico to flash a passport by Dec. 31, 2007. The same rules will take effect at air and seaports a year earlier. That means Canadians and Americans who currently cross the border with only a driver's licence or birth certificate will have to obtain a passport or a NEXUS or FAST pass. Ottawa has indicated it will reciprocate.

Second, it has been confirmed U.S. Homeland Security will install a mammoth gamma ray inspection device for freight trains in Windsor by summer's end. Called the VACIS system, it will force the premature closure of Walker Road near Grand Marais (the intersection would have been closed eventually anyway to construct a long-awaited underpass) and virtually slow traffic to a standstill on Howard Avenue at the crossing near Ypres Boulevard. Freight trains will have to crawl through the X-ray machine at eight to 10 km/h instead of their usual speeds of up to 50 km/h -- that means trains which normally take five minutes to cross Howard could take as long as 20 minutes.

These latest steps to bolster security could and should have been implemented at North America's perimeter.

As former deputy prime minister John Manley and his counterparts argued in a tri-national report released last month, harmonized cards with biometric identifiers recognized on both sides of the border would go a long way toward keeping goods and people flowing smoothly. And they'd allow North American governments to screen entrants before they set foot on the continent. Beefed-up passport requirements in each country will only make crossing the border a more arduous experience. It might spur tourists and day-trippers to stay home.

As for X-raying trains, there's no way it should be done in the heart of a bustling city whose north-south routes are already congested beyond comprehension. Freight originating outside Canada should be inspected at air and sea ports. If Washington worries about the integrity of Canadian cargo, it should press for screening at the loading point, not in Windsor….