Madam Speaker, I rise today to speak in qualified support for Bill S-23. I would like to make it abundantly clear from the outset that the Canadian Alliance strongly believes in free trade and that is why we support the trade liberalization initiatives included in Bill S-23. We do not share the revenue minister's opinion, however, of this new vision of Canada Customs. We believe it is a myopic vision dangerously lacking in the tools, resources and legislation to provide adequate national security.
The official opposition is supporting the legislation in an effort to support the revenue minister during this time of crisis. He has assured Canadians that heightened security initiatives are forthcoming. We take him at his word and will be most vigilant in holding him to it.
The issue of border security is of utmost importance to Canadians, especially those whose livelihoods are contingent upon trade with the United States. Any slowdown at the border jeopardizes Canadian jobs and subsequently the mortgages, college funds, retirement savings and purchasing power needed to keep our economy strong and prosperous.
I stood in this place during the emergency debate on September 17 and spoke of the need to address our border security, not only to strengthen our borders but also to appear to be strengthening our borders. The reason for this was to head off any accusations by the United States that Canada was complicit in the events of September 11.
Several members of the U.S. congress and senate have targeted the Canadian border as a sieve for terrorists and a threat to the U.S. national security. These members were quite influential in passing section 110 of the illegal immigration reform and immigrant responsibility act of 1996. This part of the omnibus bill aims to strengthen U.S. border security and reform the process of refugee and asylum determination by implementing a system of entrance and exit controls for all aliens travelling to the United States, including Canadian nationals.
The bill was passed in 1998 but implementation of section 110 has yet to occur. However, in the aftermath of September 11 discussions are beginning to take place regarding the initiatives included in section 110.
According to the National Post , James Ziglar, the commissioner of the U.S. immigration and naturalization service, told the U.S. senate this week that he planned to put the entry-exit system in place at airports and seaports by 2003 and at the 50 largest land entry points by 2004.
He said that the collecting the data and using it electronically was important for U.S. security as part of anti-terrorist legislation, called the U.S.A. act, which was approved by the U.S. senate and house of representatives. The bill would also triple the number of border patrol agents to 900 along the 6,440 kilometre Canada-U.S. border and boost the number of INS inspectors to 5,319 from 1,723.
An increase in processing time at the border will have a disastrous effect on the Canadian economy. I do not need to remind this government that 87% of Canadian exports go to the U.S. while only 25% of American trade is with Canada. Presently Canada is the U.S.'s largest trading partner, but President Bush has made no secret of his desire to help develop and expand the Mexican economy.
Mexico has the potential to surpass Canada as a market for American goods. In other words, the U.S. can afford to slow down the stream of trade crossing the Canada-U.S. border in the interests of national security.
At a time of war, when emotions and patriotism abound, the rhetoric of the U.S. politicians toward Canada is being met with a groundswell of public support.
I would like to read from an article in yesterday's Washington Post , which states:
Since hijackers crashed airliners into the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field more than a month ago, lawmakers and U.S. law enforcement officials have voiced mounting concern that Canada's long-standing liberal immigration policies were providing foreign terrorists easy access into the United States.
Last June, Nabil Almarabh, identified as an operative for Osama bin Laden, was caught trying to sneak into the United States from Canada. Some lawmakers and law enforcement officials suspect that two of the Sept. 11 hijackers had gone to Boston from Canada, although neither U.S. nor Canadian investigators have turned up solid evidence to prove that.
It also goes on to say that one GOP house aide called the administration's decision not to fund new customs agents for the northern border “the first failure of homeland security”.
Here at home, Nancy Hughes Anthony, Canadian Chamber of Commerce president, in a National Post interview said that the new U.S. border proposal is ominous. She said:
It is the sort of thing that hangs out there as a threat that we would just not want to see put in place. We'd like to try to make sure we meet the concerns of Americans without them having to do that sort of thing.
A group of nearly 50 business associations and companies, called the Coalition for a Secure and Trade Efficient Border, wants to see an indepth discussion of the border issues between the two countries:
“We have this concern, as a coalition, about the perception on the other side that we don't take security issues seriously,” Ms. Hughes Anthony said. “We think as a business community that we need to increase our co-ordination with the U.S. officials at the border. It's the way we foresee the future going to address security concerns.”
Canada and the U.S. are democratic countries. We share a common border. Our professional sports teams play in the same leagues. Our economies are integrated. However Canadians are asking why our border policies are so different.
The Canada-U.S. border is a clash of fundamental philosophies. In the U.S., the customs service believes its primary mandate is enforcement whereas the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency believes its primary mandate is to liberalize trade restrictions and collect revenues. The U.S. customs service considers itself the nation's primary border security agency.
One official stated “When we short changed customs we short changed America's security”. Where is that sentiment here in Canada? I do not believe that Canadian values are any less worthy of protection. I believe that our citizens are just as worthy to feel safe and secure in their own homes as Americans. Why is the government so opposed to national security initiatives?
I believe that part of the problem stems from Canadian complacency. We live next to the world's largest military power and have taken for granted that it will always protect us. Prior to September 11, the Liberal government lived in a state of denial regarding terrorism in Canada. Our American neighbours have been much more vigilant, which is reflected in the mandate of its customs officers.
The other part of the problem is that we have a Prime Minister so concerned with his legacy that he has been more interested in securing his re-elections than securing our borders.
We hear a lot about Canada's porous borders. I know I have used that phrase myself. This phrase is by no means a reflection of our customs officers, rather of the role the government has decided for them.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank our customs officers who, in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attacks, have been under incredible pressure, working extra long hours to thoroughly interrogate thousands of travellers seeking entrance into Canada. They are doing a tremendous and extremely valuable job with limited human, technological and financial resources.
The government has to make up its mind as to what role customs officers should serve. If it is in fact the first line of defence, then the government should provide sidearms. If it is tax collection, then it should provide a calculator.
Many border crossings are staffed with only one officer. These crossings are often not hooked up to computer networks and in some cases are dozens of miles away from the nearest police detachment.
We in the Alliance believe there should be an immediate network hookup of computers and of all customs software at all ports of entry into Canada. It is unacceptable for some customs officers in ports across Canada to have limited access or no access to electronic customs systems which provide intelligence and support to customs officers who must undertake interdiction and detention decisions and actions.
Customs officers at points of entry have been given peace officer status to detain drunk drivers and enforce other criminal code violations. All customs officers should have the power to detain individuals who are violent or suspicious. It is customs policy to allow all individuals to enter our country even if they are violent or suspicious, then contact the local RCMP detachment. Our remote customs crossings are not secure when the local RCMP detachment is hours away.
Our customs officers are proud to be on the front lines. In many cases morale is quite low as a result of the day to day operations at our borders. Our officers do everything they can to protect our borders. Many take specialized training to apprehend contraband, save abducted children and make other vital interventions. These same specialists are then joined on the border by summer students who have gone through an abbreviated two week training period before being put out on the front lines to screen people seeking entry to Canada.
I am fully in favour of student job initiatives. However I would not be in favour of student summer police officers. Why? Because they are not adequately trained to protect the public or themselves. The same is true for our border guards.
When the customs union president appeared before the committee, he spoke of an incident where a student had intercepted a handgun from a traveller but was unable to unload the weapon. Unfortunately, the weapon went off as the student was handing it back to the person who had brought the weapon across the border. A shot was fired and the bullet hit a building.
The union has complained to CCRA officials repeatedly over the student program. Recently one of the union vice-presidents was preparing to meet with U.S. customs officials to discuss border problems. CCRA managers threatened to fire this VP if he even met with U.S. officials. What does the CCRA have to hide that it would threaten to terminate this union rep's job?
I believe the CCRA is trying to hide the fact that it has no expertise or interest in security issues. The U.S. customs agency believes that its primary function is law enforcement, whereas Canada customs claims to have a dual mandate of processing revenues and border security. The Canadian Alliance believes that a greater focus on security is required in order to harmonize custom standards with the United States which cannot be achieved within the CCRA.
Bill S-23, which is lauded as the new vision for Canada customs, is the product of months of consultations. With the exception of the Union of Customs Employees, all the consultations took place with trade and tourism representatives. As no security or protection experts were consulted, it can be concluded that the CCRA is not concerned with border security and therefore Canada customs must be moved out of the tax collection agency and under the purview of the law enforcement department of the solicitor general.
I spoke at length on this issue during our supply day motion yesterday so I will direct my comments to the initiatives included in Bill S-23.
As I said at the beginning of my speech, we support many of the trade liberalization initiatives within Bill S-23, in particular the advance passenger information system that allows carrier manifests to be thoroughly scrutinized prior to arrival.
The Canadian Alliance has called for similar initiatives in the past, including overseas interdiction programs and the use of digital photography and scanning of traveller documentation to ease in determining the identity of spontaneous refugee claimants who arrive in Canada without documentation.
Other initiatives we support are the customs controlled areas where arriving passengers are segregated from airport personnel and the travelling public prior to interrogation. We believe this will help stop the transfer of documents and packages that have circumvented customs inspection in the past.
The Canpass and Nexus programs will hopefully alleviate some traffic congestion once Canada invests in infrastructure improvements at our ports of entry and throughout our trade corridors. We are disappointed, however, with the lack of reciprocal programs in the United States. It seems we are doing everything to help exporters gain access to Canadian markets but little to help Canadians access American markets.
That is where Bill S-23 truly fails. The omission of comprehensive security measures and the omission of measures to harmonize customs regulations with the United States is a missed opportunity to secure our U.S. trade links and stabilize our economy.
Other areas of concern in the bill include the administrative monetary penalty system, or AMPS, in conjunction with the driver registration program which do not take into account the vast turnover in drivers experienced by the trucking industry. The inclusion of a mandatory review procedure would have ensured that the penalty regime was not injurious to the realities of the industry.
We in the opposition allowed the legislation to be fast tracked in order to provide the minister with the resources needed to respond to September 11. As a result, we have abdicated our responsibility to thoroughly scrutinize the legislation.
I am calling on the government to co-operate with the stakeholders who may be adversely affected as a result of the legislation, to commit to an independent review in the near future to study the legislation's impact in expediting trade and to gauge the re-allocation of departmental resources from low risk to high risk assessment.
In times of crisis we must never neglect our responsibility to those who have entrusted us with the task of creating just and sound laws.
I will take this opportunity to plead my case once again in favour of a continental security perimeter. The free trade agreement and NAFTA involved harmonizing Canada's tariff and duty regulations with its North American neighbours. Our nation has prospered as a result of our proximity to and trade with the United States. Eighty-seven per cent of our trade crosses into the U.S. and untold jobs and livelihoods are contingent upon strong, uninhibited trade with the U.S. and Mexico.
The next logical phase in NAFTA is to protect the trading relationship by harmonizing our security regimes. A continental security perimeter is a fancy name for knowing who is in our country. In order to keep the flow of goods, people and capital across our internal borders, we must more vigilant at screening and tracking those entering North America. A perimeter does not surrender any of Canada's independence to the United States nor does it remove our decision making ability here at home.
We can have a made in Canada solution to the continental security perimeter. Last week B.C. premier Gordon Campbell came to Ottawa on behalf of eight provincial premiers and two territorial leaders to urge the Prime Minister to pursue a perimeter initiative with the United States. The Canadian business community, including the CNR, has been calling for the same thing.
So too has the Coalition for a Secure and Trade Efficient Border. However it is trying not to use the term North American security perimeter because of the negative reaction the phrase has drawn from the Liberal government. It does support the idea of trying to secure North America by checking goods and people at entry points to the continent rather than when they cross the Canada-U.S. border.
I urge the members opposite to take seriously the recent developments in Washington, D.C. Exit and entrance controls at the U.S. border will have ripple effects across every community in Canada. If these new U.S. border policies are a veiled threat, I suggest we heed it, for there is nothing to be lost by being part of a North American security perimeter but there is everything to be lost from being outside an American security perimeter.
