MP Dave MacKenzie Launches the NEXUS Program at Calgary International Airport

The following is exceprted from the CBSA posting at “news.gc.ca”

Dave MacKenzie, Member of Parliament for Oxford, on behalf of the Minister of Public Safety, the Honourable Stockwell Day, and U.S. Consul General Tom Huffaker announced the opening of NEXUS kiosks at Calgary International Airport.

… [Mr. MacKenzie said] “The NEXUS card not only serves as a secure alternative to a passport under the U.S. Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative for travel by air, but allows NEXUS members to move quickly through the Canadian and U.S. border clearance processes.”

…“The expansion of NEXUS, as well as the recent launch of a new online application, make NEXUS an excellent option for eligible travelers. The bi-national commitment also underscores the strong desire by both countries to encourage cross-border travel." [said U.S. Consul General Thomas Huffaker, who represented U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the event].

Airports in Vancouver, Toronto, Montréal, Ottawa and Halifax already operate kiosks for over 130,000 NEXUS members, and the program is expected to begin operating soon in two more cities: Edmonton and Winnipeg….

…In the air mode, NEXUS uses iris recognition technology to identify the traveller and verify his or her membership in the program. NEXUS members can also use their cards to enter the United States by land and sea.

Applicants can now apply for a membership electronically, through the Global Online Enrollment System (GOES).

As well, NEXUS application forms are now available at Canada Post outlets across the country.

For more information, please visit the NEXUS Web site at www.nexus.gc.ca or call 1-866-NEXUS-26.

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Don't let the border get in trade's way

The following article is extracted from the 23 August 2007 edition of “globeandmail.com”.
The meeting of Prime Minister Stephen Harper and his American and Mexican counterparts in Montebello ended predictably….

Of more importance to Canada, however, is the fact that the U.S. continues to drag its feet on establishing border preclearance rules that would speed up land crossings. Despite all the fanfare of the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP), border arrangements are still too cumbersome to accommodate the $2-billion worth of Canadian and U.S. goods that cross the border daily.

Despite the emerging economic power of China and India, a good trading relationship with the U.S. remains the indispensable anchor of Canada's prosperity. But border administration has become so intrusive it threatens the smooth flow of goods across the border that is Canada's economic life line.

In theory, the advent of the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement and NAFTA should have reduced the paperwork involved in crossing the border, but the list of rules and regulations that must be monitored has actually increased. For instance, Canadian border officials are responsible for ensuring compliance with nearly 100 statutes across several dozen federal departments and agencies. On the U.S. side, the number is closer to 400. Such bureaucracy, combined with inadequate physical infrastructure to accommodate the near-tripling of trade volumes over the past 20 years, costs more than $10-billion a year to businesses and consumers.

What went wrong? The fundamental problem is that the border has been transformed from a place to collect customs revenue and ensure territorial security to a convenient point for verifying everything from the size of cans to the origin of every nut, bolt and rivet used to build a North American car.

It is important to distinguish efforts to ensure regulatory compliance