OTTAWA — The largest business association in the country wants Canada and the U.S. to develop a contingency plan for keeping trade flowing in the event of a terrorist attack of other disaster at one of the major border crossings along the 49th parallel.

Canadian Chamber of Commerce Chair Russel Marcoux — who is also CEO of Saskatoon-based truckload giant Yanke Group — has sent Prime Minister Stephen Harper a letter describing the group’s concerns. The Chamber hopes that some of the issues it outlined in the letter are still fresh in Harper’s mind when he meets U.S. President George W. Bush and Mexican President Vicente Fox at a NAFTA summit in Mexico this week.

One of Harper’s stated goals is to try to repair U.S. relations — which soured under the former Liberal government — in order to resolve long-standing trade disputes like softwood lumber.

The Chamber applauded that objective, as well as the need to address the U.S. plan requiring citizens of both U.S. and Canada to present passports or other secure identification documents upon entry to the U.S.

The CCC wants a trade contingency plan in case a
crossing like the Ambassador is incapacitated

“Not surprisingly, our members are focused primarily on the bilateral relationship between Canada and the United States and feel a strong need to re-establish the mutual respect and understanding which has been the foundation of historic relations between our two nations,” read the letter, obtained by TodaysTrucking.com.

However, the Chamber adds that in the post-Sept. 11 world, it’s essential that the Canadian government and the other North American partners remain committed to the Security and Prosperity Partnership — an initiative “that recognizes that issues of trade and investment are now inextricably linked to issues of defence and security.”

The Chamber is concerned that there is no contingency plan in place in the event that the daily $1-billion in goods that crosses the border is halted due to another attack. Businesses, says the group, don’t know what do to, or where to divert shipments, if that were to happen.

“A clear priority for our members is the early implementation of a Canada-U.S. Border Contingency Plan to ensure the continued flow of goods and people in the event of a border disruption. We also need to work in concert with the U.S. on addressing the need for increased investments in border infrastructure, including the need for an additional Windsor-Detroit crossing.”

Last year, TodaysTrucking.com reported on a damning 221-page Canadian Senate report criticizing the lack of progress being made in improving border security and trade across the two countries.

The report — titled Borderline Insecure, authored by the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence — examines Canada’s security vulnerabilities at its land border points. It makes several blunt recommendations to the federal government — addressing everything from a new Windsor-Detroit bridge crossing; reverse customs clearance, armed Canada Customs inspectors, and new biometric IDs for anyone coming into Canada — even Canadians.

The report dedicates an entire chapter to Windsor-Detroit, which is frequently referred to as the world’s busiest trade gateway. The committee’s main concern was the lack of redundancy at that border and the crippling economic effect on Canada if the current Ambassador Bridge were incapacitated.

“If terrorists wanted to cripple Canada and simultaneously hobble the United States, where would they most likely strike? The Parliament Buildings? The James Bay hydro-electric project? The Pickering nuclear reactor? All good targets. But not the best.

“If somebody really wanted to tear into Canada’s political and economic future and wound the Americans at the same time, an optimal target might well be the Ambassador Bridge in Windsor, Ontario,” the report frankly stated.

“You can’t guarantee fluidity without adequate security, because a disaster could bring the border grinding to a halt — especially with the lack of backup at vital crossings … This isn’t earth-shattering analysis.”