The latest four-letter-word bedevilling the Canada-U.S. relationship is WHTI. The acronym may be obscure to many Canadians. But it is dominating most of the current conversations between our two federal governments.
WHTI stands for Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, a U.S. law that requires all adult travellers to present passports (or a proposed new PASS card) when they enter (or re-enter) the United States from Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.
Unfortunately, when the law was passed, sufficient consideration wasn't given to the fact that border management works better when both sides are engaged in the process. The WHTI emerged as a one-dimensional policy that addresses the issue of security at the expense of all other considerations.
Yes, the United States has the sovereign right to secure its borders. But it would have been prudent to engage Canada on the front end of the WHTI discussion. The challenge now is for Canada to engage in a constructive conversation with the United States about how to enhance security in North America while cooperatively managing commerce and travel across our common border.
The WHTI air rule came into effect a month ago. It requires anyone flying to, or through, the United States to have a valid passport or NEXUS card (a PASS card precursor for frequent travellers). But at land crossings and seaports, the WHTI rules won't take effect for a while: Before adjourning for the 2006 mid-term elections, the 109th U.S. Congress determined that the U.S. government needed additional time to implement the WHTI. At the time, over 70% of Americans did not possess passports, and the new PASS card alternative had not been introduced. So Congress amended the law to include an 18-month extension of the WHTI land/sea deadline, moving the target date from January, 2008, to June, 2009.
Once WHTI is fully operational, everyone crossing will be required to present the specified documentation to enter the United States. (The only exceptions, announced yesterday, are children under 15, who will be allowed to use a certified copy of their birth certificates rather than passports. Older teenagers travelling with school, religious, cultural or athletic groups will also be covered by this exception.)
Since most major truckers already participate in border-crossing pilot programs, businesses are not concerned with their own ability to adhere to the new requirement. What businesses are worried about, however, are the potential back-ups at border crossings when individual travellers don't have proper documents; or, worse, when the personnel, technology and equipment at the Customs booths fail to work properly --causing long lines and delays.
Such fears are hardly irrational: Today, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents use their discretion to determine whether or not to stop a car or truck, examine documents, or inspect a vehicle. If on the first day of implementation of the WHTI at land crossings, they demand to see 100% of passports or PASS cards, we can expect delays not seen since 9/11.
And all this may happen quite soon. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is treating the WHTI deadline extension passed by Congress as optional, and plans to start implementing the program as early as January 1, 2008.
How will Canada and the U.S. overcome their differences on WHTI? - DHSmust demonstrate an understanding that you can have security and commerce--not one or the other. - Congress must ensure that DHS realizes that the legislated deadline extension was not optional. Congress must also be vigilant in ensuring that future border-management policies take into consideration the enormous economic and security benefits of healthy bilateral relations with Canada, as well as the fundamental difference between policy challenges relating to the northern and southern borders of the United States. - For its part, Canada should appreciate that while the timing and fine details are open to debate, the broad goal of WHTI -- to limit the number of documents that travellers can present at the border -- is non-negotiable. The issue is whether Canada will remain in denial about unilateral U.S. action at the border, or whether it will make proposals for achieving the WHTI's overall goal in a collaborative way. (Next week, the premiers of Manitoba, New Brunswick and Ontario will be in Washington to make the case for rational alternatives to the PASS card, including enhanced drivers licenses.)
In the long run, the WHTI may actually expedite travel and commerce in North America by rendering document requirements more uniform. In the meantime, the main question is: How much should border communities, business supply chains and travellers have to suffer while governments figure out how to get things right? - Maryscott Greenwood is a Managing Director in the Washington, D.C. law firm Mc Kenna Long and Aldridge LLP.