Borderline Insecure
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BORDERLINE INSECURE Canada’s Land Border Crossings are Key to Canada’s Security and Prosperity. Why the Lack of Urgency to Fix Them? What Will Happen If We Don’t? An Interim Report by the Senate Committee on National Security and Defence June 2005 Membership MEMBERSHIP 38th Parliament – 1st Session STANDING COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENCE The Honourable Colin Kenny, Chair The Honourable J. Michael Forrestall, Vice-Chair and The Honourable Norman K. Atkins The Honourable Tommy Banks The Honourable Jane Cordy The Honourable Joseph A. Day The Honourable Michael A. Meighen The Honourable Jim Munson The Honourable Pierre Claude Nolin *The Honourable Jack Austin P.C. (or the Honourable William Rompkey, P.C.) *The Honourable Noël A. Kinsella (or the Honourable Terry Stratton) *Ex Officio Members Other Senators who participated during the 38th Parliament – 1st Session: The Honourable Senators: The Honourable Ione Christensen The Honourable Anne C. Cools The Honourable Percy Downe The Honourable Rose-Marie Losier-Cool The Honourable John Lynch-Staunton The Honourable Terry M. Mercer The Honourable Wilfred P. Moore The Honourable Donald H. Oliver The Honourable Gerard A. Phalen The Honourable William Rompkey The Honourable Peter A. Stollery The Honourable David Tkachuk The Honourable Marilyn Trenholme Counsell Borderline Insecure MEMBERSHIP 37th Parliament – 3rd Session STANDING COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENCE The Honourable Colin Kenny, Chair The Honourable J. Michael Forrestall, Vice-Chair and The Honourable Norman K. Atkins The Honourable Tommy Banks The Honourable Jane Cordy The Honourable Joseph A. Day The Honourable Michael A. Meighen The Honourable Jim Munson The Honourable David P. Smith, P.C. *The Honourable Jack Austin P.C. (or the Honourable William Rompkey, P.C.) *The Honourable John Lynch-Staunton (or the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella) *Ex Officio Members Membership MEMBERSHIP 37th Parliament – 2nd Session STANDING COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENCE The Honourable Colin Kenny, Chair The Honourable J. Michael Forrestall, Vice-Chair and The Honourable Norman K. Atkins The Honourable Tommy Banks The Honourable Jane Cordy The Honourable Joseph A. Day The Honourable Michael A. Meighen The Honourable David P. Smith, P.C. The Honourable John (Jack) Wiebe *The Honourable Sharon Carstairs P.C. (or the Honourable Fernand Robichaud, P.C.) *The Honourable John Lynch-Staunton (or the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella) *Ex Officio Members Borderline Insecure MEMBERSHIP 37th Parliament – 1st Session STANDING COMMITTEE ON NATIONAL SECURITY AND DEFENCE The Honourable Colin Kenny, Chair The Honourable J. Michael Forrestall, Vice-Chair and The Honourable Norman K. Atkins The Honourable Tommy Banks The Honourable Jane Cordy The Honourable Joseph A. Day The Honourable Laurier L. LaPierre The Honourable Michael A. Meighen The Honourable John (Jack) Wiebe *The Honourable Sharon Carstairs P.C. (or the Honourable Fernand Robichaud, P.C.) *The Honourable John Lynch-Staunton (or the Honourable Noël A. Kinsella) *Ex Officio Members Borderline Insecurity TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I .......................................................................................................... 1 Canada-U.S. Land Border Crossings: Why Canadians Should Worry...... 1 CHAPTER II......................................................................................................... 5 Rethinking the Big Picture .............................................................................. 5 CHAPTER III ..................................................................................................... 19 Human Challenges.......................................................................................... 19 CHAPTER IV ..................................................................................................... 37 Operational Challenges.................................................................................. 37 CHAPTER V....................................................................................................... 45 Backing up Infrastructure – Key to the Economies of Canada and the U.S. ................................................................................................................... 45 CHAPTER VI ..................................................................................................... 63 Afterward ........................................................................................................ 63 APPENDIX I ....................................................................................................... 67 Order of Reference ......................................................................................... 67 APPENDIX II...................................................................................................... 69 Index of Recommendations ........................................................................... 69 APPENDIX III .................................................................................................... 73 Who the Committee Heard From ................................................................. 73 APPENDIX IV ................................................................................................. 127 66 Questions – Border Security................................................................... 127 APPENDIX V.................................................................................................... 157 Map of Land Border Crossings in Canada................................................ 157 APPENDIX VI .................................................................................................. 161 History of the Evolution of the Canada Border Services Agency............ 161 APPENDIX VII................................................................................................. 163 Organizational Chart of the CBSA............................................................. 163 APPENDIX VIII ............................................................................................... 165 i Borderline Insecure Diagram of a Typical Land Border Crossing ............................................ 165 APPENDIX IX .................................................................................................. 169 Comparison of Reverse Inspection vs. Land Pre-Clearance.................... 169 APPENDIX X.................................................................................................... 171 Summary of Main Issues to be Resolved with Regards to Land Pre- Clearance....................................................................................................... 171 APPENDIX XI .................................................................................................. 173 ModuSpec Risk Analysis Comparison ....................................................... 173 APPENDIX XII................................................................................................. 183 Chart Documenting the Construction Timeline to 2013 .......................... 183 APPENDIX XIII ............................................................................................... 185 Windsor-Detroit Crossings and Crossing Corridor Alternatives............ 185 APPENDIX XIV ............................................................................................... 187 Senate Law Clerk’s Opinion on the Constitutionality of US-style Legislation ..................................................................................................... 187 APPENDIX XV ................................................................................................ 193 Biographies of Committee Members...................................................... 193 APPENDIX XVI ............................................................................................... 205 Biographies of the Committee Secretariat ................................................. 205 Chapter 1 Canada-U.S. Land Border Crossings: Why Canadian Should Worry CHAPTER I Canada-U.S. Land Border Crossings: Why Canadians Should Worry 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. One very possible result: a continent-wide shutdown of the border. What would a shutdown of Canada's land border with the United States mean? One only has to ponder the fact that 87 per cent of Canada's exports go to the United States,1 the majority of which is transported by truck.2 One in four jobs in Ontario – Canada’s most powerful economic engine – depends on exports to the United States. Two-way trade between the two countries is worth more than a 3 billion U.S. dollars a day. Canada’s beef cattle and softwood lumber industries are suffering enormously because of trade restrictions with the United States. A border shutdown would multiply Canada’s problems by a number that nobody in Canada likes to think about. We should. 1 The statistic is for 2002. See Industry Canada, “More Important than was Thought: A Profile of Canadian Small Business Exporters - Detailed Results,” (December 23, 2004). Available at: http://strategis.ic.gc.ca/epic/internet/insbrp-