Elisabeth Heslop
Mark Bysfield, deputy consul general with the U.S. consulate in Toronto, met with Mayor Roy Avis, several councillors, and members of the local Economic Development Advisory Committee on Monday to discuss the implementation of the new U.S. entry requirements.
The meeting was primarily a question-and-answer period about the new land and sea elements of the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) that went into effect June 1.
Both the mayor and Coun. John Albanese said all their concerns were addressed satisfactorily.
“He [Bysfield] brought us up to speed on exactly what they’re doing and how they are going to do it,” Coun. Albanese noted.
“It was a very informative conversation,” agreed Mayor Avis. “He cleared up a lot of issues that we have to deal with in every-day life living on the border.”
The mayor added they were able to get answers to questions on topics such as the NEXUS card and the need for passports.
“We’re here to let people know that the U.S. is interested in making sure travel and tourism works across the border,” Bysfield said.
“It’s important to both countries,” he stressed.
Although Bysfield is stationed in Toronto, Fort Frances is part of his area of responsibility.
With Toronto being such a big city, with such a large population and so many issues, he said consulate representatives often are not able to travel as far away as Northwestern Ontario.
He added Monday’s trip—his first to Fort Frances—was important to “be here to reassure people because there’s been a lot of angst [about the new regulations], particularly more on the Canadian side, I think, than on the American side of the border.
“But a little bit there, too,” he added.
Bysfield explained that, like when the new ID regulations for air travellers went into effect in 2007, the border has not been locked tight with no room for leniency.
“There, what they were looking at was the percentage of folks in compliance, and they weren’t going to tighten it up until they had over 99 percent of folks in compliance and they figure they’re dealing with people who really don’t want to change and might need a little harder nudge.
“I think the same thing’s going to happen here.
“The whole idea here is to be more intelligent about how we scan people at the border—it’s not to keep people out,” he stressed.
Bysfield added documents like a passport or an enhanced driver’s licence make it easier for U.S. Customs and Border Patrol officers to “get the good people through faster.”
Given our infrastructure situation, “everything you can do to speed things up even a little” is a help, he noted.
Overall, Bysfield said he thinks these new regulations will be “an opportunity to make things go a little bit smoother.”
“The big question will be will Canada, now that the U.S. has done this, reciprocate and require it for entry?” he wondered.
