A U.S. proposal for a border-crossing fee isn鈥檛 meant to be an attack on Canadians, but it鈥檚 still a poor idea.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is asking Congress to authorize study of a fee to be charged people who enter the U.S. by land. (Airline passengers already pay an entry fee.) Janet Napolitano, secretary of homeland security, says her department needs to find more revenue to pay for new border guards and increasingly expensive border operations.
The idea has created a fuss in sa国际传媒 鈥� where the majority of the population lives within 160 kilometres of the U.S. border 鈥� and in northern states where local economies depend on cross-border traffic. Critics say the fee will hurt businesses and will do more harm than good. A silver lining for Canadian retailers would be the dimming of enthusiasm for cross-border shopping, but it would also inhibit American tourist travel to sa国际传媒.
And it would be just plain unneighbourly. It鈥檚 the longest border in the world shared by two countries, and it doesn鈥檛 need massive military installations to protect it. Charging admission would seem to violate the spirit.
But don鈥檛 panic yet 鈥� the plan needs the approval of the U.S. Congress, and the vast majority of the 350 million crossings into the U.S. each year involve its border with Mexico. American politicians won鈥檛 pay much attention to Canadian angst, but they are becoming increasingly sensitive to issues affecting the Latino vote. They wouldn鈥檛 likely favour turning their country into the home of the brave and the land of the fee.
