Free and Secure Trade Program (FAST)

CANPASS
This program is aimed at reducing congestion at airport-based customs and immigration checkpoints. CANPASS — Air relies on biometric technology to recognize a persons iris. It is a voluntary program for people who are low-risk and who travel often.

Applicants must be Canadian citizens or permanent residents and must pass a security check. Once approved and an image of their retina is stored in a database, travellers can clear customs simply by looking into an instrument and submitting to a retina scan. Any customs declarations can be made at special kiosks.

The Canada Customs and Revenue Agency says the CANPASS program will be activated at Vancouver International Airport in July 2003, and at Torontos Pearson International Airport in autumn 2003. Canada Customs says six other airports will join the program at later undetermined dates. They are:

Dorval International Airport, Montreal
MacDonald-Cartier International Airport, Ottawa
Calgary International Airport
Edmonton International Airport
Halifax International Airport
Winnipeg International Airport

NEXUS
A component of the Smart Border campaign announced in September 2002 by U.S. President George W. Bush and Prime Minister Jean Chretien. NEXUS is a joint program to allow faster border crossings for frequent travellers. For an $80 fee ($50 USD), and provided they have passed a security check, travellers can apply for an identity card which allows them the use of a fast-lane at border crossings where customs officials give them little to no questioning. People who apply for a NEXUS card must give an electronic scan of their index fingers to the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service for comparison against its database of immigration violators.

Currently, NEXUS lanes are operating at the following border crossings:

Pacific Highway, British Columbia / Blaine, Washington
Douglas, British Columbia / Peace Arch, Washington
Boundary Bay, British Columbia / Point Roberts, Washington
The Bluewater Bridge at Sarnia, Ontario/ Port Huron, Michigan
The Ambassador Bridge at Windsor, Ontario / Detroit, Michigan
The Peace Bridge in Fort Erie, Ontario / Buffalo, New York
The International Tunnel at Windsor, Ontario / Detroit, Michigan

U.S. Transport Safety Agency (TSA) procedures
On Jan. 1, 2003, the TSA passed new rules for international flights. Under the rules, all checked luggage from foreign countries must be screened in the U.S. by TSA staff, even if the bags are already on a plane that's continuing to another U.S. destination. People getting off a flight in the U.S. do not need to get their baggage checked a second time, according to the new rules. Only those connecting to a different plane or continuing to another city will be required to have their luggage examined again.

Integrated Border Enforcement Team (IBET)
The IBET program was created in 1996 by law-enforcement authorities in British Columbia and Washington State to combat smuggling and other cross-border crimes. Law enforcement agencies of all levels, on both sides of the border, co-operate in the program. After the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the U.S., the Smart Border Declaration was made by Deputy Prime Minister John Manley and U.S. Homeland Security Adviser Tom Ridge (now Homeland Secretary Secretary), IBET was expanded to become a national program, and is now in force in 10 areas. Canada pledged a six-year, $135 million funding package for the programs. They are located at:

1. British Columbia / Washington State
2. Windsor, Ontario / Detroit, Michigan
3. Cornwall, Ontario / Massena, New York
4. New Brunswick / Maine
5. Niagara (Ontario / New York)
6. Thousand Islands (Ontario / New York)
7. Valleyfield (Valleyfield Quebec)
8. Quebec / New York / Vermont)
9. Quebec / New Hampshire / Vermont / Maine)
10. Rocky Mountain (Alberta / Montana)

Canadian and U.S. authorities hope to add four more IBETs by the end of 2003.

Safe Third Country agreement
Formally signed by Canada and the U.S. in December 2002, the Safe Third Country Agreement stipulates that refugees must seek asylum in whichever of the two countries they reach first. At the time, Deputy Prime Minister John Manley said the new rules would eliminate "the practice of asylum shopping by refugee applicants by allowing their return to the last safe country from which they came." The agreement prevents asylum-seekers from using Canada as a foot-in-the-door to the U.S. or vice versa. Border official have subsequently said the new legislation will force more refugees to cross the border illegally.

Bill C-11 (Immigration and Refugee Protection Act)
Bill C-11 was brought into force two weeks after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. It provides for a more thorough refugee screening process than previously used. Before the bill was passed, applicants would be photographed, fingerprinted and checked for a criminal record. If they seemed law-abiding and legitimate as applicants, they would be allowed into the country to settle while they awaited a formal hearing. A full criminal check wouldnt be held until they were accepted at the hearing. Under C-11, the security check is done at the border. Under the new rules the applicant is interviewed up to five hours to determine if he or she is a genuine refugee. Thats followed by a security check by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS). If there is any suspicion, the RCMP and FBI can be called upon for assistance. The entire process is to be done within 72 hours. If it is determined they are not a genuine refugee, or they fail the security check, they are deported. Otherwise they are allowed into Canada to await a formal hearing.Although Bill C-11 was in the works prior to the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, it was implemented two months before being passed.