The price of national security: a sandcastle in disguise.

   Imagine there's no countries
   It isn't hard to do
   Nothing to kill or die for
   And no religion too
   Imagine all the people
   Living life in peace

   --John Lennon (1940-1980)

In the 1990s, most of Europe moved towards an open border policy allowing free flow of people and business between European Union member countries. Over a decade later, Europe has become a stronger economic world power with fewer notable socio-political problems. In North America, the 49th parallel used to be referred to as the world's longest undefended border. However, the border that joins Canada and the United States has recently evolved from an open and mostly unpatrolled border into a fortified barrier. Over the past few years, the United States government has significantly increased its armed officer presence along its northern frontier. United States lawmakers have justified this increased presence as a necessary move to protect American citizens from illegal drugs, undocumented immigrants, and terrorists coming from Canada.

The September 11th, 2001 (9/11) terrorist attacks have had a profound impact on the national psyche of the American people. The United States has become hyper-vigilant in regard to its national security. In October 2001, weeks after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the United States and other allied forces (including Canada) invaded Afghanistan looking to arrest Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and destroy his terrorist empire. In this same month United States President George W. Bush created the Department of Homeland Security. With this new department carne the end to relaxed travel across the Canada-United States border.

This article will examine the impact of these new measures and whether they help ensure the safety and security of Canadians or whether they represent misguided paranoia.

Trying to Work Together

On December 12th, 2000, approximately a year prior to 9/11, Canada and the United States signed the Canada-United States Smart Border Declaration. This Declaration outlined a multi-point action plan meant to promote ongoing collaboration between Canadian and American border agencies in identifying and addressing security risks, and promoting the free flow of transborder trade. Being signed in the pre-9/11 era, this Declaration was initially intended to increase the flow of people and goods between the two nations and promote a more open border.

Since 9/11, this Declaration has taken on a new meaning. Initiatives, such as the use of biometric security features embedded into Canadian and American identity documents, integrated computer databases, and other security-focused initiatives have become the main focus of United States border officials. American authorities are using the Smart Border Declaration to justify the increased scrutiny of travellers entering the United States from Canada. Those initiatives within the Smart Border Declaration meant to facilitate the transborder movement of people and goods seem to have fallen to the wayside.

Obviously, the Canadian government needs to maintain open trade with the United States. When the United States increases its border inspection activities, Canadian manufacturers experience significant declines in production. It seems that Canada has no choice but to appease the United States with regard to border security. If the transborder movement of goods is inhibited because the United States views Canada as a potential weak link in its national security strategy, the Canadian marketplace will likely experience significant economic loss. Programs such as Free and Secure Trade (FAST) and Partners in Protection (PIP) are intended to accelerate commercial trade between Canada and the United States. The reality of these programs is that travellers must now complete application forms and await their approval before even being examined at a port of entry. Without question, there is an increased level of security, but is the inhibition of transborder trade worth it? Will Canada achieve its goal of opened borders with the United States in this post-9/11 era? Likely not.

With the signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement in December 1992, the legal barriers between the two countries began to be dismantled. Professionals were permitted to travel between the signatory states freely to work, and companies were able to import and export their wares easily and tax-free. Canadian and American officials would work closer together in the management of their shared border with the hope of increasing trade. Shared border inspection facilities were constructed along the 49th parallel and bi-national initiatives were enacted to increase the movement of people and goods between the two nations. Although these agreements and initiatives are still in place today; their intended effect to relax border movement has been quashed. Regardless of the North American Free Trade Agreement, Canada-United States Smart Border Declaration, or any of the other international programs and agreements, the mandate of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) (est. Nov. 2002) now comes before all.

Some Border Facts

* 98 million people crossed Canada's borders in 2002

* 415 million people crossed American borders in 2002

* 1,236 drug seizures were made at Canada's border in 2002

* 1.5 million drug seizures were made at American borders in 2002

* 61,505 criminals were deported from the United States in 2003

* 11,509 people were detained by Canadian immigration officers in 2003

* 8,609 people were removed from Canada in 2003 (1,496 were criminals)

* 104 missing children were located by Canadian border officers in 2003

* 190 acts of international terrorism occurred in 2003 (307 people were killed)

From Drugs to Terrorists

The first noticeable increase in security along the Canada-United States border occurred on December 14th, 1999 when an Algerian terrorist with known ties to Al Qaeda was arrested at a Canada-United States border crossing. Ahmed Rassem was apprehended when entering Washington State from British Columbia aboard a vehicle ferry. At the time of his arrest, Rassem had a trunk load of explosives in his rented car and was believed to be travelling to Los Angeles to destroy LAX International Airport. This incident exacerbated the already tense Canadian-United States border relations. Since the 1990s, there has been a thriving illegal drug trade between Canada and the US. Despite the ongoing efforts of Canadian law enforcement to curb the smuggling of drugs to the south, American officials still view the problem to be connected to the Canadian government's weak drug laws and pro-marijuana views. With the arrest of Rassem, American officers now viewed Canada as a haven for terrorists.

The 9/11 terrorist attacks marked the most significant increase in security along the Canada-United States border since the War of 1812. Within hours of the first attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, American airspace was completely restricted and flights were redirected to Canadian airports. Despite Canada's role in helping manage the air traffic over the United States on September 11th, 2001, as well as its commitment of warships and soldiers in the October 2001 invasion of Afghanistan, critics at all levels of the American government still view Canada as a significant threat to US national security.

The New Reality Along our Southern 49th Parallel

One of the most noticeable developments resulting from the 9/11 terrorist attacks is the creation of the United States Department of Homeland Security and its two sub-bureaus: Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The philosophy of the Department of Homeland Security is that by having a single command authority that is tasked with coordinating public safety and military resources to prevent and respond to terrorism, the American homeland is safer. This same philosophy of interconnected agencies is evident in the Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureaus. Where the United States once had separate customs and immigration departments, in March of 2003, these two new entities were created to respond to foreign threats at the borders and within communities.

Customs and Border Protection is tasked with protecting American ports of entry as well as those territories between unguarded points. This bureau consolidated the former roles of customs, immigration, and agriculture inspection into a single entity. This new "One Face at the Border" means a more integrated and responsive enforcement ability on the behalf of the United States government to match foreign threats. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is responsible for protecting Americans from foreign threats that have penetrated the US borders as well as to provide assistance and support to the other federal law enforcement agencies within the Homeland Security mandate.

The New Reality Along Their Northern 49th Parallel

It is no coincidence that only two years after the creation of the United States Department of Homeland Security, Canada consolidated many of its federal public safety departments under a single entity, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada. This super-organization consists of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, Canadian Security Intelligence Service, Correctional Service of Canada, National Parole Board of Canada, National Firearms Centre, and the newly established Canada Border Services Agency. Although Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada shares some resemblance to the United States Department of Homeland Security, the Canadian institution is much more focused on maintaining domestic public safety and security as opposed to countering foreign threats.

Despite the differences between the new American and Canadian umbrella departments, there are striking similarities between the Canada Border Services Agency and the American Customs Border Protection and Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureaus. Canada Border Services Agency, like its American counterparts, incorporates the once separate entities of customs, immigration enforcement, and food inspection into a single border authority. The Canadian government announced that the Canada Border Services Agency was created to build on the Smart Border Declaration and improve Canada-United States relations. It is obvious this new border agency would not exist if it were not for the events of 9/11, and the American perception that Canada poses a threat to its national security.

Changing Border Policies

On January 31st, 2003, the American government announced that select groups of non-citizen residents of Canada will require visas to enter the United States and may be subject to having photographs and fingerprints taken. The vast majority of the non-citizen residents of Canada subject to this new policy are citizens of Arab or Muslim countries. Traditionally, all Permanent Residents of Canada (those people who are legally permitted to remain in Canada indefinitely though they are not citizens of Canada) were exempt from having to obtain a visa to enter the United States. In this post-9/11 world, exemptions are a thing of the past.

On May 21st, 2004, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau announced it was establishing five new branch offices at strategic points dose to the Canada-United States border. These five branches are being established to combat the increased threat of illegal drugs, terrorists, and undocumented immigrants entering the United States from Canada. It is the goal of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement bureau to be able to provide armed assistance to Customs Border Protection Officers at any point along the Canada-United States border in less than an hour. Where the United States traditionally focused its border enforcement towards Mexico, in the post-9/11 world, it now looks at Canada as its biggest threat.

Conclusion

Can the United States prevent another 9/11, Oklahoma bombing, or USS Cole attack through restrictive measures? What price are we willing to pay in an effort to detect and apprehend potential terrorists, drug smugglers, arms carriers, etc.? Today, we live in a world whose borders have become transparent thanks to advances in telecommunication and travel. As a country's homogeneity is eroded due to immigration and mass movement of people, it is easily possible for criminals to engage in trans-national crimes without having to leave home, and sympathetic supports can be readily found anywhere today.

The American notion that they/we can keep ne'er-do-wells outside of our respective borders is about as real as keeping the West Nile virus from spreading. You can stop a few but ... the price we pay and the infringement on civil and human rights seems much higher than the likelihood that our respective new organizations will be successful in their objectives.

Social conflict does not arise when there is social harmony in the world. Rather, it arises from socio-political disharmony and the overt interference from outside parties. While Lennon may have been an idealist, we might consider looking to Europe and informing lawmakers about such principles as peacemaking and restorative justice rather than relying on the misguided notion that by building a stronger castle your walls will remain impenetrable. Consider what happened to Troy, Babylon, Rome....

John Winterdyk, PhD is a professor with the Department of Justice Studies at Mount Royal College in Calgary, Alberta and an adjunct professor at St. Thomas University in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Kelly W. Sundberg is an MA (Candidate) with Royal Roads University in Victoria, British Columbia.