20 April 2005

McGuinty urges action on border delays

The following article is extracted from the 19 April 2005 edition of the “Toronto Star”.

Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty pushed U.S. officials today to move faster to break chronic congestion at Canada's busiest border point, saying it's imperative to security and trade.

Delays at the Windsor-Detroit crossings can increase the pressure to let people pass, said McGuinty, who met Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff during a two-day trip to the capital….

"We need the safety of two bridges as soon as possible. We need to decide quickly how and where we can deliver a new crossing. If that requires the use of alternative funding, so be it."

The current schedule wouldn't allow for a new bridge until at least 2013. "None of us can afford to wait that long," McGuinty told the council. ``There are too many jobs, …. and too much at stake for us to sit back and allow this process to leisurely unfold."

McGuinty has enlisted the support of Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who wrote a letter to President George W. Bush about speeding up complex Canada-U.S. negotiations involving city, state, provincial and federal officials.

"I think we can all do more to accelerate that process," said McGuinty, who supports a plan from New York transportation expert Sam Schwartz. In January, Scwartz proposed spending some $500 million Cdn on a new international bridge and more than $1 billion on road, rail and tunnel construction.

Ontario will create a task force called the Border Implementation Group to speed improvements, said the premier, who also pitched a shared vision for manufacturing in the Great Lakes region, with big investments in education, research and equipment….

But increased traffic and heightened security measures since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, have contributed to backups on both sides of the border, at times stretching several kilometres….

U.S. and Canadian officials plan to increase trade and traffic capacity at the border by 25 per cent this year, in part by hiring 30 new officers to speed things up.

The FAST program to pre-approve commercial shipments is also being expanded, with additional dedicated lanes at the Ambassador Bridge. Currently, only six per cent of goods traded across the border use the program.

In his meeting Monday with Chertoff, McGuinty also raised the issue of a U.S. proposal that would require passports from all Canadians visiting the U.S.

"He said don't get hung up on the notion of a passport and that they're opening this up to a consultation period and they're prepared to consider alternative forms of identification which reach a certain level of security."

The ideal option, he said, would be something like an upgraded driver's licence.