On Parliament Hill

Last week I spoke to a group of business leaders in Surrey, B.C. on the impact of border security on trade and the Canadian economy.  As I spoke about our country as a whole, I could not help but think of my own riding and the benefits and challenges it faces as a border riding.

Over three million travellers enter Canada each year at the Port of Douglas near Surrey, making it one of Canada’s busiest.

By comparison, the border crossing at Emerson, MB is the busiest Prairie port of entry with over $16 billion in goods crossing the border at this facility.  Clearly, this port is vital to the economy of Manitoba.

On my recent trip to Washington to meet with my US counterpart, Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, as well as Attorney General Eric Holder and the President’s counter-terrorism advisor, John Brennan, I expressed a strong desire to broaden opportunities for trade by “thinning” the border between our two great nations.

As Minister of Public Safety, my primary duty is to protect Canadians from threats to their security.  There are those who allege that excessive security slows down trade.  I believe that effective, efficient security inspires the confidence of our largest trading partner and leads to a true thinning of our common border. 

With our economy, industries and supply chains so highly integrated with those of the United States, border management becomes even more critical to our economic success.

After all, we not only trade goods with countries like the US but we also build things together with them. Nearly $1.6 billion in commercial transactions cross our border with the US every day.  Some estimates value intra-company exchanges at one-third of all trade with the US.

The bottom line is that we need borders that are very secure against threats, yet open to the legitimate movement of people and goods.  Achieving this goal is perhaps the greatest exercise in risk management we have ever undertaken as a nation.  It is well worth the effort. 

While my primary focus is security, every decision must consider impacts on commerce, trade, jobs and prosperity.  A “thick” border is harmful for the economies of both our countries.

To this end, our two countries must continue to work together to identify and address threats before they reach our shores.  In practical terms, we must work together to identify and screen travellers as early as possible using new technologies such as biometrics.

We should work on joint facilities and programs in order to help increase border efficiency and effectiveness.  Today there are six shared facilities at which our border service officers work shoulder to shoulder with their US counterparts.

Finally, we need to build on existing initiatives to develop the next generation of integrated cross-border security programs.

Programs like NEXUS have already proven to be very effective in pre-screening travellers and membership is now at an all time high.  As of June 2010, the NEXUS program had over 420,000 registered members. Membership is expected to reach 500,000 by spring 2011.

 Identifying and addressing risks early will help reduce the number of inspections required for legitimate products and people destined to cross our shared border.

To do this we need to develop a coordinated effort to ensure shipments are secure before they ever get to the border.  The same basic principle applies to travellers.

With over $1 million in trade moving across our borders with the US every minute, it makes both dollars and sense.