WICHITA, Kan. (May 13, 2005) — The CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance took his border show on the road, telling transportation officials in the U.S. Heartland that Canada and the States need to strive for improvements at the northern border.

“Canada and the United States are each other’s major trading partners and together form the world’s largest and most stable bilateral trading relationship,” David Bradley said at a conference in Wichita, Kan. honouring 10-plus years of NAFTA. “What’s more it’s a two-way street. Canada is the United States’ best customer — not Japan, not China, not the EU — it’s Canada.”

The conference was organized by the Centre for International Business Advancement at the Wichita State University. Attendees and speakers included local and international businesses, the U.S. Department of Commerce, and Canadian government and consular officials.

Bradley’s message was consistent with several others he’s delivered to both Canadian and U.S. officials since the Sept. 11 attacks. “We need to ensure we have a reliable and predictable supply chain in North America and that means we need to have efficient and predictable borders,” he said.

“Canadian truckers understand full well the security imperative and will meet whatever tests come their way, but that does not mean we should not be jointly pursuing solutions that are win-win in terms of trade and security,” he added.

Bradley cited some recent sore spots in NAFTA such as the BSE and softwood lumber trade disputes. He said that NAFTA also has been somewhat of a disappointment in terms of transportation harmonization in areas like weights and dimensions and cabotage. “That whole element of NAFTA more or less went by the wayside when the United States unilaterally decided not to open the southern border.”

Still, he remains optimistic and hopes that a recent security and economic partnership entered signed by the political leaders of the U.S., Canada and Mexico, “will get some of these issues back on the agenda.”