Border Plan Becoming Reality, says Bradley

OTTAWA — Today’s release of the federal government’s Beyond the Border Action Plan Implementation Report shows progress is being made on modernizing the border, the Canadian Trucking Alliance (CTA) said today.

“There is a lot of work here and these things take time, but so far the implementation report shows that our federal government and industry stakeholders didn’t simply retreat back into the shadows after the Action Plan announcement last year,” said CTA President David Bradley. “It’s nice to see that we have made some progress to make that into a reality.”

Today’s report gave an update the goals initially contained in the plan, such as a joint border infrastructure plan; an integrated cargo security strategy, data harmonization between the two countries, C-TPAT-PIP harmonization, and a recently-launched pilot program at the Blue Water Bridge in Sarnia that aims to improve the FAST program for trusted traders.

Also of note to the trucking industry, said the CTA, were: restoring carriers’ ability to move in-transit in the US; mutual recognition of trusted trader programs; using FAST cards to meet other security rules; pre-inspection and pre-clearance programs; and assessing the impact of border crossing fees.

For the past year, the CTA has been working with both the U.S. and Canadian governments, as well as other industry stakeholders, on making the plan a reality.

Bradley says he is hopeful that the report can also create a pathway towards progress on other areas of recommendation, such as liberalizing US rules governing the repositioning of foreign empty trailers.

“We appreciate the extent to which policy makers on both sides of the border listened to CTA’s recommendations,” said Bradley. “We are encouraged by the work completed to this point and look forward to further implementation of projects and initiatives which we think will improve cross-border transport for motor carriers and boost trade between our two nations.”