OTTAWA — The Business Council of Canada is concerned about the continued closure of the Nexus trusted traveler program, which allows pre-screened travelers to expedite processing when entering the United States and Canada.
OTTAWA — The Business Council of Canada is concerned about the continued closure of the Nexus trusted traveler program, which allows pre-screened travelers to expedite processing when entering the United States and Canada.
CEO Goldy Hyder says it is “deeply troubling” that the US government has not reopened 13 Nexus enrollment centers, in a letter to David Cohen, the US ambassador to Canada, obtained by The Canadian Press.
The two countries are at odds over a long-standing demand by the U.S. Customs and Border Protection that its officers have the same legal protections inside Nexus facilities in Canada that they currently have at points. entry points such as airports and the Canada-US border. .
Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino cited the principles of Canadian sovereignty when explaining why US customs officers cannot enjoy the same legal protections at Nexus centers as at airports and at the border.
Hyder says in her letter to Cohen that she fears the dispute could harm companies whose employees do not yet have Nexus cards and she urges the ambassador to recommend the reopening of enrollment centers.
His comments come after Canada’s envoy to the United States said the program was “held hostage” by unilateral US efforts to renegotiate the preclearance agreement between the United States and its northern neighbour.
“There is an attempt to unilaterally renegotiate the terms of a 20-year-old program and the program is being held hostage by that effort,” Kirsten Hillman said at a Canada-US border symposium last week. by the Future Borders Coalition.
This report from The Canadian Press was first published on October 16, 2022.
David Fraser, The Canadian Press
