Martin to spend over a billion on the border

OTTAWA, Ont. (Dec. 11, 2001) — Yesterday’s Federal budget announcement scored some rare points with the Canadian Trucking Alliance when finance minister Paul Martin promised to spend $7.7 billion on personal and economic security over the next five years-$1.2 billion of which will be used to modernize, secure, and speed up border traffic.

While $6.5 billion will go to intelligence, policing, better immigration screening, enhanced emergency preparedness, military support and airport security, Martin said the rest of the funds will be invested “to create the most modern, sophisticated border possible, using state of the art technology to speed legitimate traffic while stopping those who would do our country harm.”

Martin said $646 million over the next 5 years will go to implement pre-screening programs for frequent travelers, state of the art detection equipment, and the establishment of Integrated Border Enforcement Teams. Another $600 million over the same amount of time will fund infrastructure projects to facilitate cross-border trade, including new or improved roads and highways to border crossings and processing centres for commercial vehicles.

“The budget represents a significant financial commitment for the government, given current fiscal circumstances and the fact that Canada has already invested heavily in automated customs systems,” CTA president David Bradley said in a press release. “As we have been saying all along, it is essential that the US reciprocate and that we develop truly bilateral customs processes to ensure that Canadian exports can cross the border efficiently.”

However, Bradley did say he hopes yesterday’s announcement was just the beginning in regards to the border, and expects that more will be unveiled when U.S. Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge visits Ottawa today.

One new system that has been receiving a lot of attention recently is Customs Self-Assessment. The voluntary program pre-approves the importer, carrier and driver of a shipment based on the internal systems and compliance of each of those three elements. Because almost all paper work is processed after the fact, the program may have the potential to speed processing times for shippers who transport large volumes of the same goods as a matter of routine.

However CSA is for in-bound freight only, and many critics charge that the system will do nothing to relieve congestion on both sides of the border unless the program, or something similar, is also adopted by U.S. Customs.