Move Faster to Fix Border Delays, Van Dongen Urges

(Vancouver Sun – Derrick Penner)

Lineups for truckers and tourists a concern

The Canadian and U.S. federal governments need to move faster to fix the delays truckers face at border crossings, according to John van Dongen, B.C.’s minister of public safety and solicitor-general.

At a major intergovernmental conference on Monday, van Dongen said that while governments have moved to implement programs that expedite the passage of “trusted travellers” across the border, he still sees long lineups at the Fraser Valley’s Pacific Border Crossing.

He contends that those lineups result in fewer vehicles taking more time to get across, “which represents huge lost dollars.”

The situation has improved over the past four years, according to other speakers at the breakout session of the Pacific North West Economic Region (PNWER) conference in Vancouver.

However, van Dongen said that while things are moving in the right direction, “Rome is burning while we’re trying to get this stuff implemented.”

The issue of the border, which has become a stickier line to cross in the security-conscious 9/11 era, was a key topic of discussion at the PNWER annual meeting, which brings together top government and business representatives to talk about common issues. Van Dongen serves as one of PNWER’s vice-presidents.

The potential for visitors to Vancouver and Whistler’s Olympics in 2010 to face delays dominated a morning session on border issues.

Premier Gordon Campbell reprised that theme as part of his keynote address during lunch.

Recalling an uncomfortably long wait for transportation at the 2004 Athens Olympics that still sticks out in his memory, Campbell said he wants to make sure the thing that people don’t remember about the 2010 Games is a long wait at the border to get into Canada.

Campbell credited PNWER with advancing the border-delay issue with both the Canadian and U.S. federal governments, and pushing for innovative solutions, such as the enhanced drivers licences being piloted by Washington and B.C. as acceptable border identification.

Cargo crossing the border was the afternoon topic, when it was mentioned strides have been made towards improving the two-way flow. Click here for the complete article.