A dead end for free trade? II

card, which shows his citizenship, confirms he is cleared criminal background checks, and also tracks his recent movements across the border. His truck is also equipped with a $5,000 global positioning system that allows the company to track where he is at all times, send him alerts, and make electronic customs filings.

Then, there is the U.S. Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism (C-TPAT) — a voluntary program that requires shippers to seal their cargo, and to secure and fence in pick-up and drop-off locations. Canada has its own program, with slightly different requirements. The United States has also introduced a new computer system to track freight — the Automated Commercial Environment, or ACE — the bug-prone program that was down when Durant attempted to cross the border. The greatest fear in the Canadian business community is that the border will become a reason not to invest in Canada — that businesses will set up shop on the U.S. side of the border, specifically to avoid the logjams and uncertainty. “When is enough, enough?” complained Ron Lennox, vice-president of trade and security for the Canadian Trucking Alliance. “We’ve seen program after program rolled out and we don’t know where the next one will come from.”

Canadians officials are hoping that a new U.S. president and a new Congress next January will provide an opportunity for a fresh start. They are pining for a DHS secretary in the mould of Tom Ridge, the likable former Pennsylvania governor who headed the department in the first years after 9/11, rather than another hard-nosed prosecutor like Chertoff. Former foreign minister John Manley, who was put in charge of the security file after 9/11, said Ridge understood the border and rejected the notion that security trumps the economy. “Mr. Chertoff came in with a much more law enforcement approach,” Manley said. What is needed now is effort “from the top” to fix the border, according to Manley. “Getting it back on track can only come at the level of heads of government,” he said. Many experts are skeptical a change of government alone will change the “security first” mentality in Washington. If anything, a Democratic president, backed by a Democratic Congress, could prove to be even more protectionist, security conscious and less willing to back off trade-restrictive policies, argued Christopher Sands, who studies Canada for the Hudson Institute in Washington, D.C.“The pressure to keep moving in this direction - to greater security — isn’t likely to change,” Sands said. In addition to next year’s new passport rules, the United States is gradually moving to a system of exit controls to track when and where people leave the country. It is not yet clear how this would be accomplished at the land borders, without causing traffic chaos. U.S. customs is also working on a system to screen and inspect 100 percent of all container cargo. This could vastly complicate rail, truck, and ship trade by requiring costly, duplicative inspections.

Back at the border, Durant is bound for home, with 9,280 cases of freshly baked Oreo and Chips Ahoy cookies on board. Durant had hoped to get to Toledo, pick up his load, deliver it to Brampton, Ontario, and then get back to his home in Spencerville, Ontario, outside Ottawa — all in one day. The morning’s border glitch, however, means he will exhaust the maximum hours of driving he is allowed under U.S. and Ontario transport laws before he gets there. It is all part of an increasingly unpredictable life. Durant, though, is still upbeat as his truck rumbles across the Ambassador Bridge and back into Canada. “No matter how often I cross this border, I always feel good when I see that,” he said pointing to the maple leaf flying over the Canadian customs checkpoint. “It’s home.” On this day, at least, his is the only truck waiting to enter Canada. A female customs agent swipes his ID card, scans her computer screen to see what he is hauling, and waves him through. All in less than 30 seconds.