U.S. and Canada seek to reduce border bottlenecks. (Security Beat).

The United States and Canada are working to implement their "smart borders" initiative, which is intended to reduce post-9/11 bottlenecks along the 5,000-mile border between the two nations, according to Canadian Deputy Prime Minister John Manley. More than 200 million people cross that border every year.

"After 9/11, border delays were rampant, with every single vehicle being checked," Manley said. "U.S. Customs and INS [Immigration and Naturalization Service] agents put in long overtime hours and had to be supported by the National Guard. But the lines continued. Some reported up to 18 hours delay at the border. ... The situation was unsustainable."

The "smart borders" plan is designed to speed things up, Manley told a recent Canadian-American Business Council meeting in Washington, D.C. For example, he said, the FAST (Free and Secure Trade) program will help commercial shipments to move more quickly through border checkpoints.

Under the FAST program--which will be in place in the six largest border crossings by the end of the year--commercial drivers, carriers and importers will be prescreened. Low-risk trucks will receive smart cards, containing electronic data that allows them to use dedicated lanes to cross the border.

Another program, called NEXUS, allows individual travelers, who have been pre-approved and deemed low-risk, to use dedicated lanes. Already in operation at four border crossings, it permits "a businessperson or teacher living in Windsor, but working in Detroit," to have access to a dedicated lane, Manley explained. NEXUS is being expanded to air travel in a pilot program called NEXUS-Air, which will begin operating at airports in early 2003, he said.

The two countries also have developed a plan to place joint U.S.-Canadian border-enforcement teams in 14 regions along their common border. These teams, Manley said, "will work together to shut down terrorist and organized criminal activity across our border."

Manley said that he believes that the FAST and NEXUS programs could be broadened to include shipments of food, plants and animals. "Maybe," he said, "we should call it the FAST food program."