US to tighten Canada border

US plans tougher inspections at Canadian border

Steven Chase, Globe and Mail:

OTTAWA — Calling Canada a potential conduit for bioterrorism, pests and disease, the U.S. government is boosting its northern border inspection muscle -- and making Canadian air travellers and commercial shippers foot the bill.

In what it calls an "emergency action," the United States Department of Agriculture has served notice it will levy a per-trip surcharge on all air travellers and commercial cargo shippers from Canada, starting Nov. 24.

The U.S. entry fee will range from $5 (U.S.) per air passenger to $488 per maritime vessel, with trucks paying $5.25 per crossing and railways $7.50 per car.

The estimated $77-million raised annually will fund a much-expanded agriculture inspector program to screen air travellers and commercial rail, truck, water and plane shipments for pests and biohazards.

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Trade lawyer Larry Herman said the planned changes appear to breach the North American free-trade agreement. "Border inspections for health, safety and other reasons can be one of the most aggressive uses of protectionism," said Mr. Herman of Cassels Brock in Toronto.

How is the "emergency" greater now than it has been for the past five years?