Peace Bridge plaza remains a sticky issue despite Clinton's new role
‘Shared border’ idea making no progress
WASHINGTON — One of the strongest supporters of moving the Peace Bridge customs plaza to Canada has been nominated as secretary of state — but that doesn’t mean the long-stalled proposal for the border will quickly regain traction.
That’s the consensus of border experts in the wake of New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s nomination this week as the nation’s top diplomat.
The Democratic senator’s support of the “shared border management” concept has been loud and constant, but the issues that derailed the plan will remain no matter who is secretary of state, several sources said.
“There were fundamental differences that couldn’t be resolved” between Canada and the United States, said Richard M. Stana, director of homeland security and justice issues at the Government Accountability Office, which issued a report in September detailing those differences.
“Those issues wouldn’t go away simply because the secretary of state might be personally involved,” Stana said.
A source close to Clinton said that it is far too soon to speculate on how she might handle the border issue as secretary of state. But that source quickly added: “Clearly, New York is going to have a friend at Foggy Bottom.”
Clinton spoke to her staff via conference call Monday, the day Presidentelect Barack Obama announced her nomination, emphasizing that her decision to leave the Senate was among the toughest she has ever made.
She’ll have plenty of tough decisions now, as she deals with everything from nuclear weapons proliferation to Middle East peace to two wars.
Figuring out how to build a border truck plaza serving Buffalo and Fort Erie, Ont., might seem like small potatoes in comparison, and that’s just one of the reasons why experts doubt that Clinton’s elevation would make a big difference.
Most importantly, the study Stana oversaw found several obstacles to building the customs center in Canada.
Under Canadian laws, U. S. officials could not make arrests at a Canadabased border station. In addition, the two nations have conflicting laws on the fingerprinting and arrest of suspects and on cargo searches.
“You would have to have a different set of standards at the Peace Bridge than at any other northern border crossing,” said Rep. Brian Higgins, D-Buffalo. Those lower standards could make the Buffalo border crossing more vulnerable than the others, he said.
Higgins and Sen. Charles E. Schumer, D-N. Y., suggest that it is time to move beyond the shared border concept.
“Having a strong advocate like Sen. Clinton will certainly help, but as much as we would like to have it and as hard as we worked on it, significant obstacles remain,” Schumer said. “And unless Canada changes its positions and comes to the table to negotiate, it is going to be very hard to accomplish.”
Rep. Louise M. Slaughter, D-Fairport, remains a staunch supporter of the plan. “Shared border management is a policy that makes infinitely good sense for the United States and Canada,” she said. “As secretary of state, Sen. Clinton will play an important role on border policies, and I look forward to continue working with her on shared border management and other northern border issues.”
Some experts think that creative diplomacy could overcome the obstacles confronting the shared border proposal.
The government auditors noted the possibility of an international “land swap” in which some territory on the Canadian side would become part of the United States.
Christopher M. Sands, an expert in U. S.-Canadian relations at the Washington- based Hudson Institute, said the United States could get that Fort Erie land in exchange for American land at the Detroit-Windsor border crossing.
It’s also possible that negotiators could establish the customs equivalent of a foreign trade zone at a U. S. Customs facility in Fort Erie, Sands added.
The impetus for such a compromise could come not only from Clinton, but from the homeland security secretary-designate, Arizona Gov. Janet A. Napolitano. Homeland Security was the lead agency in previous negotiations with Canada on the issue. Sands described Napolitano as “a very good dealmaker.”
Although officials at the Canadian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request to comment, others noted that this is a confusing time for the Canadian government, with three minority parties trying to oust Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. Political turmoil in Canada would likely make a rekindling of the border negotiations unlikely.
This summer, however, Clinton made it clear that she wanted those talks to be rekindled.
After the critical government report was released, she said: “Shared border management is one option that would allow us to address many of the issues that the project is facing, and I will continue to work with all parties involved to do what is best for the City of Buffalo as this project moves forward.”
Shared border management would mean that the Peace Bridge Authority would not have to build a huge truck-inspection plaza in a historic Buffalo neighborhood, but even one of the longtime advocates of shifting more border operations to Canada — former Rep. John J. LaFalce, D-Town of Tonawanda — isn’t so sure about it anymore.
“It might take so long that we might want to ask: Is it wise for the Peace Bridge, or will it hold the project for another 20 years?”
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