June 28, 2002
Progress Report - Security and Opportunity at the U.S.-Canada Border
In the aftermath of the horrific events of September 11, President
George W. Bush and Prime Minister Jean Chrétien directed us to
strengthen the security of our citizens while ensuring that terrorists
could not hold our economies hostage.
We had a strong foundation to build upon. Our countries have a
long and proud history of working together in advancing our common
interests, and have built the largest trading relationship between any
two countries in the world. And when new threats to our collective
security have emerged, our countries have worked together to address
them as we did when we jointly created the North American Aerospace
Defense Command (NORAD).
In addressing the global threat of terrorism we quickly concluded
that national and economic security were mutually reinforcing
objectives. We recognized that we could and must enhance the security
of our border while facilitating the legitimate flow of people and
goods upon which both of our economies depend.
In short, we decided to develop a "smart border" - one where we
could identify and expedite low-risk people and goods, and focus our
resources on higher risk traffic.
On December 12, 2001, we signed the Smart Border Declaration and
together launched a 30-point action plan. This blueprint for action
has four pillars: the secure flow of people, the secure flow of goods,
secure infrastructure and information sharing and coordination in the
enforcement of these objectives.
We advised Prime Minister Jean Chr'tien and President George W.
Bush that we would report on our progress around the time of the June
G-8 Summit in Kananaskis, Canada.
With the hard work of dozens of agencies and departments on both
sides of the border and with the input of hundreds of stakeholders, we
are pleased to report tremendous progress. We believe that we are well
on the way to creating a smart border for the 21st century - one that
is open for business but closed to terrorists.
The Secure Flow of People
Ensuring the secure flow of people into our countries begins well
away from our borders. To this end, we have strengthened our
cooperation and our ability to intercept high-risk travelers before
they arrive in our countries.
We are deploying additional immigration control officers overseas
to ensure that fraudulent documents are identified before individuals
board planes. We have also increased our cooperation on policy with
respect to the issuance of visas and visa exemptions to help us more
effectively control irregular migration to either country.
In keeping with our commitment to improve the operation of our
common border, our two countries have initialed a "safe third" text
that will require, subject to several important exceptions, that
refugee claimants apply in the last of the two countries where they
have been present.
We will be holding consultations with members of our respective
legislatures, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees and
non-governmental organizations in the coming weeks in order to finalize
the agreement soon thereafter. This initiative will promote the
orderly handling of asylum applications and reduce the misuse of our
respective asylum systems.
We are implementing a common approach to screen international air
passengers before they arrive in either country and identify those who
warrant additional security scrutiny. Our agencies are working closely
to share information on high-risk passengers, including, for the first
time, Advance Passenger Information and Passenger Name Record data. We
are establishing Joint Passenger Analysis Units in Vancouver and Miami
by September 2002, with U.S. and Canadian officers working side by side
to refine our mutual procedures for intercepting high-risk travelers.
As for the border we share, the vast majority of the more than 200
million travelers crossing it each year pose no risk to our security.
Canada and the United States are deploying a border-wide "fast lane"
program called NEXUS to speed the flow of pre-screened low-risk
travelers so that we can focus our resources on higher risk travelers.
Two days ago, we opened NEXUS lanes at the two main crossings along
the Washington-British Columbia border (Blaine-Pacific Highway and
Blaine-Douglas), and will open NEXUS at the Point Roberts-Boundary Bay
crossing in July.
NEXUS is projected to be in place at all major border crossings in
Southern Ontario, New York State and Michigan by the end of this year
and to all other high-volume border crossings in 2003. NEXUS
enrollment will begin in Buffalo-Fort Erie by September 2002, and in
Detroit-Windsor by October 2002. NEXUS will open for operation in both
locations by December 2002.
We are also working to provide air travelers the same "fast lane"
benefits. We are launching the NEXUS - Air pilot project at Ottawa and
Dorval International airports in early 2003. This project will use
biometric technology to confirm the identities of pre-screened,
low-risk participants. The pilot project is the first step towards a
complete binational NEXUS - Air system.
Canada and the United States are working together to develop common
standards for using biometric identifiers, such as fingerprints, facial
recognition, and iris scanning, to confirm the identify of travelers.
Our two countries partnered in Kananaskis to obtain the commitment of
the G-8 to develop standards for biometrics in international travel
documents.
The Secure Flow of Goods
Today, we are also pleased to report on significant progress on a
new joint program that will revolutionize the way commercial shipments
move across our shared border. The Free and Secure Trade (FAST)
program establishes a public-private partnership to improve security
measures throughout the entire supply chain. Companies that make the
commitment to improve their supply chain security will enjoy the
benefits of a "fast lane" for commercial truck traffic.
In short, FAST will make many cross-border commercial shipments
simpler, cheaper, and subject to fewer delays - all while enhancing
security. FAST is designed from the framework of our existing
unilateral supply chain security programs, Canada's Customs Self
Assessment and Partners in Protection (CSA/PIP) and the United States'
Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT).
FAST provides a simpler clearance process for lower-risk shipments
- those imported by pre-authorized importers and carried by
pre-authorized drivers and carriers. Approved participants will use a
dedicated "fast lane," which will significantly expedite the processing
of shipments. Businesses will benefit from a simpler clearance process
and greater efficiency in the shipment of their goods.
FAST also reduces the administrative burden on businesses by
minimizing the amount of trade compliance verification that is done at
the border. This allows front-line customs officials to focus on
higher-risk traffic.
FAST is the first step in an ongoing effort to align how our two
countries process all commercial shipments - by truck, plane, train or
ship. Our goal is to provide companies compatible procedures to follow
when importing to either country. These common procedures will reduce
the costs and administrative burden on business, and will significantly
enhance security by providing customs agencies with the information
they require for proper scrutiny of incoming goods. Later this summer
we expect to announce a schedule for implementation at our top shared
commercial border crossings.
Using the same principles of risk management, we are cooperating to
identify and screen high-risk cargo before it arrives in either
country. Canadian customs officers are now stationed in Seattle-Tacoma
and Newark to target containers arriving in those ports that are
ultimately destined for Canada. U.S. customs officers are currently
doing the same in Halifax, Montreal and Vancouver. This program is the
first of its kind and revolutionizes the way customs administrators
work together to prevent terrorists from threatening global trade.
Today, our two Customs Commissioners - Rob Wright and Rob Bonner -
are giving a joint presentation to the World Customs Organization.
They are describing how our successful cooperation can serve as a model
for enhancing the security of the global trading and transportation
systems.
In fact, the U.S.-Canadian efforts have served as a catalyst for
the United States' expansion of the Container Security Initiative to
Singapore, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. The transportation
security agenda approved at the G-8 Summit, which builds upon many of
our joint initiatives, is another example of how we are working
together through international fora to address the threat terrorism
poses to all nations.
Secure Infrastructure
The efficient movement of people and goods requires the right
infrastructure to support it, and the right technology and intelligence
to secure it.
We are launching a binational steering group to reduce the risks to
our shared critical infrastructure, and are setting priorities for
action across key infrastructure sectors. One concrete result of our
bilateral cooperation includes security assessments that bridge and
tunnel authorities have conducted with federal, state, provincial and
private sector representatives - a process which has already resulted
in security improvements at many locations.
We have also taken steps to secure air travel. We have agreed to
recognize each others' national standards for aviation security and
have created new federal transportation agencies to ensure that these
standards are met. We have worked together to deploy explosives
detection systems, reinforce cockpit doors, deploy cross-border Air
Marshals and Aircraft Protection Officers and implement other measures
to improve the security of our air system.
Our land border supports the largest trading relationship in the
world and we are committed to investing in infrastructure in a way that
addresses both current challenges and future growth.
Our first priority is to invest in the infrastructure that will
support and amplify the impact of the NEXUS and FAST programs.
Technology can play an important role in expediting traffic in a
secure manner. We have invested in computer simulation modeling to
optimize our infrastructure investments, advanced information systems
to improve traffic mobility and high-energy gamma and X-ray machines to
detect dangerous materials.
Coordination and Information Sharing in the Enforcement of these
Objectives
September 11 demonstrated that no country is immune from the threat
of terrorism. Canada and the United States are committed to working
together to prevent, detect, apprehend and prosecute terrorists and
other criminals. While our two countries already cooperate closely on
many law enforcement initiatives, we are strengthening this cooperation
to meet the demands of the new security reality.
We are improving the speed with which we can share information
through initiatives such as the implementation of an electronic system
for criminal records information exchange, including fingerprints, that
will be in place by September 2002. We have also stepped up
intelligence cooperation with Canada participating in the U.S. Foreign
Terrorist Tracking Task Force.
To strengthen our coordinated response, we continue to expand and
enhance the binational integrated border enforcement efforts that
proved effective even before September 11. To better facilitate this
existing partnership, we have created six Integrated Border Enforcement
Teams (IBETs) to act as hubs for coordinated enforcement efforts across
our shared border. And though our local officers already coordinate
throughout the border on a daily basis, our goal is to field a total of
14 IBETs over the next 18 months.
We are using Project NorthStar - a grass roots organization of law
enforcement professionals from the federal, state, provincial, and
local levels on both sides of the border - to provide a forum for
coordinating communications, intelligence, joint operations, and
prosecutions.
Additionally, through our Shared Border Accord process and the
Canada-U.S. Cross-Border Crime Forum, we are working to share
information and co-ordinate efforts toward fighting terrorism and
crime.
We are also conducting joint counter-terrorism training exercises
to strengthen the capacities of public safety planners and emergency
responders. A major joint counter-terrorism exercise is scheduled for
May 2003.
Finally, both of our countries have passed legislation to give us
the tools we need to better address the terrorist threat. To date,
Canada and the United States have listed over 280 individuals and
organizations linked to global terrorism, enabling our countries to
freeze their assets.
Next Steps
Although we have taken great strides forward, there is additional
work to be done. This process has demonstrated that when we focus
together on common challenges, we can achieve tremendous results. We
need to maintain this focus into the future.
As we move forward, we will continue to meet to ensure complete and
full implementation of the 30-point Action Plan, particularly those
areas that require long-term focus and cooperation. We are also
identifying new areas for future cooperation, and will present a
forward agenda for action to Prime Minister Jean Chr'tien and President
George W. Bush when they next meet.
We are proud of what has been accomplished. This process
demonstrates how our two great nations can work together to strengthen
our national and economic security.
Tom Ridge
Homeland Security Advisor
United States of America
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John Manley
Deputy Prime Minister
Canada
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Niagara Falls, Ontario
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