Fingerprint dispute scuttles US-Canada border site plans
Washington calls off the initiative
WASHINGTON -- Plans for a screening facility at one of the nation's busiest land-border crossings were abandoned because of a disagreement over fingerprinting travelers, an outcome that has angered business groups in the United States and Canada.
Canadian business leaders are in Washington this week to lobby for the resumption of a US plan to build a "pre clearance" facility at the border near Buffalo that would speed commercial and passenger traffic from Canada into the United States.
Michael Chertoff, Department of Homeland Security secretary, scuttled the initiative last month because Canada would not accept Washington's demand that it fingerprint travelers on Canadian soil who approach the border but, for whatever reason, decide not to cross.
The government wants to be able to take suspects' fingerprints and compare them with terrorist and criminal databases, US government officials said. The prints could be stored in databases for use if, for instance, the traveler seeks to enter at another border crossing.
"If an individual presents themselves for admission and makes a decision about not wanting to come in, there's a reason why," Homeland Security spokesman Russ Knocke said. "It could be perfectly benign. But it could be that they sense that we're onto them for criminal activity or potential security concerns. We have an interest in knowing who that person is."
Canadian law precludes fingerprinting people unless criminal charges have been filed. "Canada will not consider any proposal that does not comply with Canadian law," said Stockwell Day, public safety minister, in an April 26 letter to Chertoff.
But US and Canadian business groups and some lawmakers are angry at the Bush administration's April 26 decision to abandon plans to build the facility in Fort Erie, Ontario, just over Peace Bridge from Buffalo. They say the move threatens $20 billion of trade that flows annually across the bridge, and potentially complicates other border security projects. Canada is the United States' largest trading partner.
"Business groups like ours are really worried about the negative signal it sends," said Maryscott Greenwood, executive director of the Canadian-American Business Council, which represents such major US firms as
Canada has granted the United States permission to operate pre clearance facilities in Canadian airports since the 1970s. In December 2001, Canada and the United States signed a Smart Border Declaration to enhance border security, while facilitating the flow of low-risk travelers and goods. In 2004, the two governments agreed to a pre clearance pilot program, or Shared Border Management .
