Nearly 60 Canadian business groups are urging Ottawa to resolve a dispute with Washington over the popular Nexus trusted travel program that allows citizens of both countries to cross the border more quickly. The dispute, which has left about 490,000 Canadians waiting in line to have their applications approved, also involves the Fast program that makes cross-border trade shipments simpler and subject to fewer delays. In a letter to Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino and U.S. Interior Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, the business groups, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Federation of Independent Business, said the dispute must be resolved immediately to avoid financial and personal repercussions. . “The Canadian business community is deeply concerned about the failure of the two governments to agree on the reopening of the Nexus and Fast registration facilities in Canada,” according to the Nov. 4 letter provided to The Globe and Mail. “Joint management of a trusted traveler program is essential, both to promote economic growth and to deepen the ties between our countries’ citizens.” Canadian Chamber of Commerce president Perrin Beatty said he is concerned the U.S. will end both programs, which would negatively impact Canadian businesses. “We’ve reached an impasse, and at some point, if the impasse isn’t broken, it’s possible they’re going to suggest that Canadians fall in line with everybody else in the global entry program,” Mr. Beatty said in an interview Sunday. Mr. Medicino’s office said late Sunday that he had held talks over the weekend with Mr. Mallorca. “Both sides are committed to the continued success of Nexus and are optimistic that business can effectively scale to pre-pandemic levels,” Mr. Mendicino said in a statement. He added that both countries want to “leverage the technology, streamline renewals and ensure the deployment of US personnel to Nexus enrollment centers as soon as possible.” At issue is a dispute over legal protections for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, officers who work in Nexus offices in Canada. Americans want the same protections for them guaranteed to its employees at Canadian land crossings and airports under a 2019 bilateral agreement. Nexus and Fast are a joint program and require applicants to be interviewed by both Canadian and US customs officials before approval is granted. Mr. Mendicino recently told The Globe that Ottawa is steadfast in its position that U.S. customs officials cannot have the same legal protections in Nexus registration centers as in Canadian pre-clearance rooms. He said Americans working in pre-detention areas enjoy legal protections because “travelers are moved immediately to the United States as opposed to Nexus registration centers where they are located far from official ports of entry.” A U.S. official told The Globe that the issue is the absence of formal legal protections for the official duties performed by CBP officers at Trusted Traveler Enrollment Centers in Canada. For example, US customs officials are allowed to be tried in US courts for most offenses if they are accused of a crime while on duty in Canada. The Globe is not identifying the official because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen said last week that “it’s about solving Canada’s problem” and the U.S. is adamantly opposed to restarting the program without legal rights for its officers. Mr. Cohen has privately told Canadian businessmen that the United States is prepared to cancel the Nexus and Fast programs if Ottawa does not back down, according to one source. The Globe is not identifying the source as they were not authorized to disclose private discussions with Mr. Cohen. In their letter, the Canadian business groups said both countries must “demonstrate creativity and commitment to urgently resolve the outstanding issues.” The groups, also including the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, Food Producers of Canada and the Canadian Trucking Alliance, said they support a Canadian proposal to conduct video interviews with applicants while negotiations continue to resolve the issue. “We urge governments to implement such a system as quickly as possible,” the letter said. Mr. Mendicino said he discussed the possibility of virtual interviews with U.S. Customs when he recently held talks with Mr. Mayorkas. But the US embassy official told The Globe that the virtual option is impractical and unlikely to take off. Before the pandemic, the U.S. official said 60 percent of Nexus processing was done in Canada and 80 percent of applications were Canadian. The official said Canadians will either have to travel to US Nexus enrollment offices or the US border to be interviewed before getting a Nexus card. Existing Nexus members whose cards are about to expire can continue to use the travel document for another five years, provided they apply for renewal online. In an interview with The Globe last month, Mr. Mendicino dismissed as untrue reports that the dispute is over a request for U.S. customs officials to bring guns into Canadian registration centers. Neither Canadian nor U.S. customs officials are allowed to bring guns into Nexus centers, which are located in or near airports but separate from customs clearance, he said.
