Wednesday » March 19 » 2003
Crossing the border? Be ready for 2-hour wait
Travellers pay the price of heightened U.S. security
Tom Blackwell and Anne Dawson, with files from Bill Curry
National Post
Wednesday, March 19, 2003
Delays at U.S. border points began slowly growing yesterday, as U.S.
authorities stepped up frontier security and Canada made a rare offer
to screen people and goods leaving this country.
The extra scrutiny of travellers and truckers crossing into the United
States was part of a sweeping effort to fortify the country against
possible terrorist attack sparked by the looming Iraq war.
The plan, dubbed Operation Liberty Shield, will stiffen security
everywhere, from airports to nuclear plants and banks, said Tom Ridge,
the U.S. Homeland Security Chief.
In Ottawa, federal Cabinet ministers said Canada will station more
customs officers at border points, and check vehicles as they head into
the United States, something that is not normally done.
Businesses, for which the rapid cross-border movement of goods is
crucial, watched anxiously as security was ramped up.
"These are commercial arteries, literally," said Perrin Beatty,
president of Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.
"You can't allow congestion that shuts down these arteries, or the
whole system shuts down."
The United States pushed up its terror threat level to orange, the
second highest, this week. Authorities fear terrorist reprisals after
George W. Bush, the President, said the United States and its allies
would attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein and his inner circle do not step
down within 48 hours.
At border crossings, that means more checks of driver identification,
more trunk inspections and more scrutiny of commercial cargo, said
Janet Rapaport, a spokeswoman for the Customs and Border Protection
Bureau.
The result yesterday was delays of as long as two hours at crossings
such as Windsor, Ont., and Huntingdon, B.C.
That wait is about half an hour longer than normal, not enough to
seriously inconvenience truckers yet, said Doug Switzer of the Ontario
Trucking Association.
But if the Americans raise the threat level to red, the highest, the
situation could change, he said.
"If somebody, God forbid, committed an act of terrorism in the United
States, set off a car bomb in front of a plaza or something, we'd be in
a whole new world of security and that's a concern for us," Mr. Switzer
said.
Still, Mr. Beatty said that the delays are likely to be much more
manageable than after Sept. 11, when tightened security resulted in
traffic jams kilometres long.
Two new systems, FAST and Nexus, that allow individuals and companies
to register in advance for special clearance to cross the border
quickly, have helped immeasurably, he said.
John Manley, the Deputy Prime Minister, said Mr. Ridge had called him
yesterday to discuss the need for increased security at borders,
airports and seaports.
"They did ask us to take some additional measures as of last evening
and we have implemented, through the Revenue Agency, some exit
supervision," he said.
"Normally, we don't inspect vehicles leaving the country.... We will do
those checks. It adds an additional element of security and it
facilitates border crossings."
Mr. Manley said he and Mr. Ridge will keep in "very close contact" and
to do their best to keep goods and services moving freely.
Canadian officials will also work closely with their U.S. counterparts
to try to meet American needs for security, he said.
Wayne Easter, the Solicitor-General, said the Canadian Security
Intelligence Service (CSIS) has also enhanced its activities at home.
"CSIS indicates to me that they're willing to do that extra little bit
to ensure that extra precautions are taken in terms of the national
security of the country and the public safety of Canadians," he said.
tblackwell@...
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