MONTREAL, (July 15, 2004) — The Canadian Trucking Alliance’s Senior Vice President says Canada and the U.S. must find a way to ensure that a number of security programs scheduled to come online over the next 9 to 12 months are not allowed to impede trade flows across the border.

Speaking at a symposium hosted by the Chartered Institute of Logistics and Transport in Montreal, Graham Cooper said prime concern is the effect of U.S. prior notice requirements for U.S. Customs and the Food and Drug Administration, combined with HAZMAT security and the U.S.-VISIT program at land borders — which are all scheduled to take effect between this fall and the spring of 2005.

“If the U.S. does not — as we have proposed — exempt FAST card holders from VISIT screening, all drivers who are non-citizens of the US or Canada will need to report to immigration secondary inspection to be fingerprinted and photographed each time they enter the U.S.,” Cooper warned.

He said unofficial estimates put the number of drivers who could be subject to VISIT screening as high as 20 per cent of all those entering the U.S; thus the potential for border congestion is enormous, he added.