==================BEGIN FORWARDED MESSAGE================== PUBLICATION: The Toronto Star DATE: 2000.04.08 SECTION: NEWS SOURCE: STAFF REPORTER BYLINE: San Grewal Customs launches plan to speed border crossings; Palm-print readers, picture IDs to be used for low-risk travellers Pre-approved travellers can say goodbye to long lineups at border crossings and airports after Ottawa implements its new customs strategy. "The plan will benefit low-risk travellers who pose no threat to our borders," said Denis Lefebvre, a customs official with Canada Customs and Revenue. "We want to spend our energies targeting high-risk individuals and unknown risks. Right now we spend too much time and resources checking low-risk travellers and importers who are not a threat." High-risk threats include drug traffickers, terrorists, illegal exporters and individuals who have previously been caught with undeclared goods. [notice how attempting to evade the bureaucracy is equated with people in a criminalized business and with people intent on harming others. JFA] The plan, unveiled yesterday, is based on government-issued security clearance cards and will be phased in over the next four years at land borders and in airports. Canadians and businesses can register for a picture I.D. card that pre-approves them for quick stops at crossings, although custom officers will still do random checks. Pre-approved drivers use a designated lane. Registered businesses electronically report the contents of shipments, which would be subject to random checks. The system has been tested at seven border crossings in Ontario, Quebec and British Columbia, and will be connected to 17 other crossings across the country within two years. A plan to connect the system with the United States, so that travellers from either country can use the same card, will be tested at the Sarnia-Port Huron, Mich., border crossing this summer. Air travellers will be processed at automated airport customs terminals that can read palm prints of pre-approved travellers, who then declare and pay duties at an electronic cash machine, similar to an ATM. The system has been successfully tested at the Vancouver airport, says Lefebvre, and should be in place at airports across the country by mid-2001. The cost of the plan will be covered by the $87 million that was put aside in February's budget to phase it in. "We expect a large increase in volume at our borders, and this plan allows us to deal with the higher demand much more efficiently and effectively," said Lefebvre. "We won't have to keep spending money to bring in more customs officials and more check points." With files from Canadian Press. ===================END FORWARDED MESSAGE===================
