TrendCanada, U.S. inching toward agreement on NEXUS card

We may want to update the saying “good fences make good neighbors” to the somewhat less felicitous “harmonizing border security makes good neighbors.” This, at least, was the impression Paul Rosenzweig, acting assistant secretary of homeland security, conveyed last week at a conference on U.S.-Canada border issues. Speaking to an audience of security firm executives and government officials in Ottawa, Rosenzweig admitted that “coming to Canada to talk about border security is a bit of a hard sale.”

He emphasized, though, that pure economics dictate the need for closer co-operation. “With $1.4 billion in daily trade between the two countries, synchronizing border security is key to strengthening the Canada-U.S. relationship,” he said. Rosenzweig went over several areas in which he believes the United States and Canada need to step up efforts in order to synchronize law enforcement initiatives and ensure more effective border crossings for travelers and commercial goods. Advanced passenger screening, integrated biometrics databases, coordinated risk assessments, and sea container inspections are all issues where an asymmetrical perception of security is sometimes hindering progress, he said.

The need for harmonizing both threat perceptions and security practices between the United States and Canada was highlighted last month when DHS secretary Michael Chertoff pulled out of discussions with Canada’s Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day over a proposal to move U.S. customs agents to the Canadian side of the Peace Bridge between Buffalo, New York and Fort Erie, Ontario. Both sides felt the measure would speed up the heavy flow of commercial traffic, but Canada is refusing to let U.S. border officials fingerprint individuals who approach the bridge from the Canadian side and then turn around, claiming this would violate their civil rights. The United States has said it is not prepared to give up what it considers an essential inspection tool.

Rosenzweig also warned that the United States is still committed to implementing passport requirements for land and sea travellers within two years, though he said Canada must start looking beyond the U.S.-Canada border and do more to secure its the integrity of its entire territory. “The border is not the entire answer,” Rosenzweig said. “It is part and parcel of the external security, including overseas defence and prosecution.”

Note that the United States does not require visas for nationals from twenty-seven countries, while Canada grants the exemption to forty-four countries, which means that Canada may be allowing more high-risk subjects within its borders, and those individuals can then migrate across the border into the United States undetected.

The antiquated equipment used by the Canadian border authorities exacerbates this problem: These antiquated systems do not have direct access to international terrorist watch lists, Interpol’s most serious criminal database, and several other lists of criminally high-risk repeat offenders. Only officers in secondary processing areas can use such tools.

Canadian businesses, among others, push for the NEXUS card as a solution which will offer enhanced security without hampering trade. James Phillips, president and CEO of the Canadian/American Border Trade Alliance, an organization representing 60,000 companies, says that since the card will be given only to pre-approved, low-risk travelers, both countries should support its implementation. A total of 120,000 people have already obtained the card.

Freedom of movement in times of perceived national threats is another advantage of the card, Phillips adds. “In cases of orange alerts, only NEXUS card holders will be allowed to cross the border,” he said.