OTTAWA, (June 27, 2005) — A damning 221-page Canadian Senate report criticizes the lack of progress being made between Canada and the U.S. 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 — frequently referred to as the world’s busiest trade gateway. The committee’s main concern is the crippling economic effect on Canada if the current Ambassador Bridge were incapacitated by another terrorist attack. “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 states.

The committee wants Canada’s federal government to expedite plans with U.S. officials in building a new bridge in the region — and not to simply rely on expanding existing facilities. “(That) is not efficient,” the report states. “New structures need to be built to assure adequate redundancy in case of a disaster. Only those proposals for new crossing infrastructure at Windsor-Detroit, which provide separate and secure infrastructure redundancy, be considered.

The report even mentions N.Y. traffic expert Sam Schwartz by name, lending weight to a new truck route and bridge plans he drew up for the City of Windsor. That plan — which proposes a new, stand-alone bridge 3 km southwest of the Ambassador — has been unanimously endorsed by city council but is being delayed by a slow-moving bilateral process.

“While typical conversations about border infrastructure at Windsor-Detroit focus on border traffic delays, the 2015 date when the current bridge and tunnel are projected to reach capacity, and the presence of truck traffic on Windsor’s streets, the real issue should be the need for a new, separate crossing — Now,” states the report.

While it acknowledged the need for a bilateral process in similar circumstances, the report suggests that Windsor-Detroit is too vulnerable to follow conventional guidelines. “The type of cautious, step-by-step, approach currently underway is clearly the most intelligent approach for non-urgent projects. This is not one of them,” it states. “Windsor-Detroit is of such strategic importance to both Canada and the U.S. that fixing it requires war-time urgency. What the process fails to take into account is the possibility that the timelines are unrealistic and that a crossing could be permanently disrupted between now and the completion of a new crossing.”

The report also dismissed alternate plans to twin the Ambassador: “Twinning current infrastructure might be less costly than providing a discrete new crossing. But twinning will not decrease the potential that a crossing will be taken out by man-made or natural disaster, and therefore cannot satisfy the national security requirements of Canada and the U.S.”

The Senate Committee recommends that the design phase of a new bridge begin as soon as possible in parallel to the bilateral process. In the meantime, the government should initiate a process to examine possible alternative crossings either north of Lake St. Clair along the Ontario-Michigan border or along the Ontario-New York border.

The report states “an out-of-town solution” would serve as an alternative route for the 14 percent of vehicles that travel through Windsor-Detroit, provide a backup and alternative to the current bridge and the tunnel, and “introduce an element of competition from other potential crossing sites to the deliberations of officials in Windsor-Detroit, which might spur action.”

Not holding back any punches, the committee also wants the feds to introduce legislation that would grant the Governor-in-Council, upon the recommendation of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, the authority to expedite border infrastructure construction.

The proposal would also give the government new powers over all current rules and entitlements that apply to the trade corridor in the interest of national security. “The legislation should limit the legal recourse of those who want to block the decision to build border infrastructure that is subject to a waiver (but not limit their right to compensation from harm that expediting the process might inflict),” the report states.

ON THE FRONT LINE:

The Senate Committee also wants Canada Customs workers to act a little more like officers and less like clerks. “That’s the reverse of the current situation,” it states. “There should be far less emphasis on the collection of duties and taxes at our border crossings. The emphasis placed on collecting them steals valuable time from inspectors, who should be provided with an improved opportunity to focus on their security responsibilities. ” The report recommends harmonization of personal exemptions for travelers with U.S. levels to $2000 per visit by 2010.

The report also hammers Canada’s lackluster effort to match growing traffic volume and trade flow with the appropriate number of inspectors. It cites data showing that, since 1994, trade between Canada and the U.S. has grown by 78 percent. However, the total number of employees on the Canadian side of the border hasn’t grown, while the number of U.S. Customs agents has tripled.

Additionally, if Canada’s border guards are going to have a bigger role in protecting the country, they should be better trained and equipped, the report suggests. “While inspectors routinely encounter persons in possession of firearms, they themselves are armed with only batons and pepper spray,” the report states, adding that inspectors are currently instructed to phone either the RCMP or local police for support when confronting violent behaviour. That backup is almost non-existent, the report concludes.

“The committee has reluctantly come to the conclusion that if the federal government is not willing or able to provide a constant police presence at Canada’s border crossings, current border inspectors must be given the option of carrying firearms.”

Inspectors are also at a disadvantage in identifying terror suspects. According to the report, they currently work with outdated and inadequate access to data systems designed to tell them which persons or vehicles may be dangerous. The Canada Border Services Agency needs a streamlined system that links all 62 unconnected border posts with real-time access to the Customs mainframe by January 1st, 2006, the report states.

THE FLIP SIDE

Current land border crossings need to be redesigned to make them more efficient, and to provide for reverse inspection, according to the committee.

“Reverse inspection would essentially allow Canadian and U.S. inspectors to trade places and operate on the other country’s soil. This would allow them to scrutinize persons and cargo before they enter a crossing, the way U.S. immigration and customs officers currently operate at many Canadian airports.” The report claims the preliminary introduction of a pilot project for land pre-clearance has been unacceptably slow.

FINGER SALUTE

The senate Committee also wants the government to require documentation of all people entering Canada, including Canadians, that consists of tamper-proof, machine readable, and biometrically enhanced ID.

“In short, machine readability would be a major time saver for border officials and requiring a biometric would help ensure that persons presenting documentation are who they say they are,” the report states. “Using biometrics is no longer a particularly expensive, complicated or revolutionary process. So why not come up with a standard set of modern identification that is reliable and easy to use?”