Speaking Notes

for

The Honourable Roy Cullen, P.C., M.P.

Parliamentary Secretary to the
Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness

For presentation at the

Canadian Association of Manufacturers and Exporters'
National Manufacturing Summit
Chateau Laurier, Ottawa

February 7, 2005

Check Against Delivery
INTRODUCTION

Thank you, Governor Engler. I also wish to thank you, Mr. Myers, for putting this event together. Deputy Prime Minister, Anne McLellan, regrets that she could not join us today, but she has asked me to extend her best wishes for a successful conference.

I appreciate this opportunity to meet with so many business leaders, government officials, researchers and academics at the same time. This room holds a wealth of knowledge and expertise in manufacturing and exporting, and we must seize opportunities like this to exchange ideas about how your industries can be further supported by federal initiatives.

If we are going to close our per-capita income gap with the U.S. and make Canada the most prosperous country in the Americas by the year 2020, we do need to work together. That means encouraging the high-value and high-paying activities that are part of manufacturing and exporting in Canada.

Many of the stakeholders in this room help drive our economy, and one of out every three jobs you create in this country is related to trade. More than 80 percent of that trade is with the United States. So I am committed to ensuring that the policies and programs we develop to support cross-border trade are built in partnership with important stakeholders like you.

CANADA'S NEW SECURITY ARCHITECTURE

Since 9/11, the challenges we all face bring into sharp focus the importance of a well-managed border that facilitates the flow of lawful goods and people in and out of Canada.

We know that our programs and processes can have an impact on your business and productivity. We also know that we cannot compromise national security under any circumstances. So, to keep the free flow of secure trade going across our border, we need to work closely together.

Let me start with a very brief overview of Canada's new security architecture. In December of 2003, Prime Minister Paul Martin created the portfolio of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness to address a continuum of risks to Canadians.

PSEP brings together key national agencies dedicated to public safety, including the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), the Correctional Service of Canada, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), Canadian Security Intelligence Services (CSIS), the Canada Firearms Centre and the National Parole Board.

We also have a new National Security Policy, which focuses on three core national security interests: protecting Canada and Canadians at home and abroad, ensuring Canada is not a base for threats to our allies, and contributing to international security.

As part of the new security architecture, CBSA's goal is to ensure the security and prosperity of Canadians by managing the access of people and goods to and from Canada.

WHY THE CBSA?

On December 12, 2003, the Prime Minister integrated personnel and functions from portions of three larger organizations-the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency (CCRA), Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA)-into one Agency.

This transfer brings the total number of CBSA employees to more than 11,000 employees-customs officers, immigration officers responsible for ports of entry, detention, removals, investigations, intelligence and immigration control overseas; officials inspecting animal, plant, and food imports; and marine inspection officials.

Having all border services under one agency like the CBSA now makes it easier for the Government of Canada to ensure the safety and security of Canadians. We can share the required information, at the right time, and eliminate unnecessary duplication that, in the past, has posed a burden to business.

The Agency's role is to build on the Smart Border accord between Canada and the U.S. to expedite legitimate cross-border traffic and support economic development while strengthening security to stop people and cargo that pose a threat to Canada.

The CBSA continues to let low-risk travellers and goods, particularly those that have been pre-cleared, move quickly and efficiently across the border. But it also prevents the entry of goods - including animals, plants or food products - that threaten the safety of Canadians. And it will deny the use of Canadian territory to anyone involved in terrorism or serious criminality.

This approach is grounded in the understanding that, with more than 200-million border crossings a year between Canada and the U.S., it's a lot easier to identify and stop a dangerous person once you eliminate the millions of low-risk ones.

In the more than two years since we signed the Canada-U.S. Smart Border Declaration, we have made outstanding progress.

MAKING PROGRESS

We have improved border flow with the expansion of the NEXUS and Free And Secure Trade programs for pre-approved, low-risk travellers and commercial traffic. We have 11 NEXUS sites and 19 FAST sites operational at our major border crossings. Over 56,600 participants are currently benefiting from the NEXUS Highway program alone.

This past December, Minister McLellan met with the Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security in Detroit to make a number of announcements.

They included a land pre-clearance pilot at the Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, a decision to expand U.S. pre-clearance facilities to the Halifax International Airport, and the expansion of the FAST program. They also announced that 30 additional CBSA officers would be engaged to staff the border at the Windsor-Detroit Gateway, and committed to reduce transit times across this vital trade link.

In November of 2003, we held a bi-national consultation in Ottawa with Canadian and American business representatives, and our American counterparts will be hosting a second one tomorrow in Toronto.

Meetings like these enable businesses and others whose livelihoods depend on an efficient border to tell us how we're doing-and where we must improve. Because we know much more needs to be done.

We need to make appropriate investments in border infrastructure. And we need to encourage more businesses to sign up for programs like FAST and Partners in Protection, the voluntary program that involves private industry through a good-will agreement to enhance security, exchange information and raise awareness of customs requirements and security issues.

The November 2004 joint statement between Prime Minister Martin and President Bush further highlights a new partnership.

Prime Minister Martin and President Bush committed to deepen our cooperation in North America and in the world; to work bilaterally to address Canada-U.S. priorities and to continue our close cooperation with Mexico on issues of trilateral importance.

This new partnership will set the course for an agenda designed to increase the security, prosperity, and the quality of life of our citizens

MULTIPLE BORDERS STRATEGY

Let me tell you about a couple of recent developments that show how we are already working smarter at the border and where we are headed in the near future.

These accomplishments reflect the "multiple borders strategy": the effort to interdict high-risk travellers and cargo before they arrive in Canada. To that end, we work closely with our partners and deploy Migration Integrity Officers overseas. MIOs work with airlines and local authorities, share intelligence, detect document fraud, and interrupt the flow of illegal migrants, criminals and persons with terrorist links before they board a plane for Canada.

The work of these officers resulted in an interdiction rate of over 12,000 individuals, who were stopped before they reached Canada.

One of the ways we are speeding up the movement of legitimate trade and travellers is by expanding risk-management techniques and utilizing cutting-edge technologies.

These technologies, including the Vehicle And Cargo Inspection System (VACIS), complement long-standing methods such as our 69 Detector Dog teams to secure the efficient flow of marine and rail containers, cars, trucks and air passengers.

Another example is Canada's National Risk Assessment Centre, which has been operational for over a year now. NRAC will serve as the focal point for managing and co-coordinating national and international watch lists, including lists of lost and stolen passports and other travel documents.

Then there is NEXUS Air, which was introduced as a pilot program this past November. This program uses iris-recognition biometric technology, at time of arrival in Canada or the U.S. pre-clearance, to verify an individual's identity and confirm admissibility.

Advance Cargo Information is also on-stream to identify and intercept dangerous goods and speed up the processing of cargo moving legitimately across the border. ACI now requires ocean carriers to submit cargo data electronically 24 hours before the container is loaded in foreign ports. Air and rail aspects of ACI will follow this year. These multiple levels of screening prior to departure, during transit, and upon arrival reflect our investments in better technology, tools and training.

CONCLUSION

Initiatives like these ensure that our activities are harmonized with the U.S. and will make it easier for people like you to do business across the borders.

They are also an important part of the requirement to "push the borders out." In today's increasingly connected and mobile world, we must be able to identify and respond to threats to the competitiveness of our business, as well as to the health and safety of the general public, before those threats reach our shores.

I think we can be proud of what we've accomplished. Canadian and American officials have worked closely and worked well. We have responded as all good neighbours do - by working together.

I am convinced our efforts to create a secure and efficient border have underlined the strength of our relationship. And that can only be good for Canada's manufacturers and exporters.

You can be sure that the Government of Canada will make further inroads in strengthening relations between our two nations, by enhancing our efforts to achieve a safer and more secure North America.

Your input is essential to ensure we get it right. So I welcome your ideas and advice. Your members have consistently demonstrated their willingness to work in close partnership with the Government of Canada, and I thank you for that support.

I look forward to building on this foundation to ensure Canadians continue to benefit from an open but secure border that protects our high standard of living and quality of life.

Thank you.