Fraser Institute Study on Border Costs Dings Canada-U.S. Beyond the Border Joint Effort

The Fraser Institute, an independent non-partisan Canadian think-tank, dings Canada-US border policy.  Specifically, the report calls for both governments to "detailed descriptions of costs and expenditures for specific border programs and new security measures" that are "linked to expected outcomes and timelines."

The report's take on the Beyond the Border Declaration, a Dec. 2011 joint declaration aimed at lowering trade barriers while securing the Canada-US border, is summed up best in the report's final line:

The concepts are in place, the actual performance is the next step.

The key findings of the Fraser Institute's report Measuring the Costs of the Canada-US Border, slightly re-ordered:

• In December 2011, the governments of Canada and the United States issued a joint declaration called Beyond the Border: A Shared Vision for Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness. While the vision provides specific benchmarks and timelines for measuring progress, it does not tie these guidelines to government expenditures, or reductions in border crossing costs. Either we will continue with incremental and uncoordinated programs, creating some improvements but not lowering the overall cost of the border, or we will begin to create a new border regime.
• After ten years of post-9/11 border innovations, the costs associated with border crossing have not significantly decreased while government spending on border security has markedly increased. In order to develop performance-based and cost-effective border management policies, an outline of costs associated with the border is required.
• After adding up the lowest values from the estimated ranges for all three types of costs (trade, tourism/travel, and government programs), we find an annual cost of C$19.1 billion in 2010 or nearly 1.5% of Canada’s GDP.
• Canadian and American governments should provide detailed descriptions of costs and expenditures for specific border programs and new security measures. Furthermore, these costs/expenditures must be linked to expected outcomes and timelines. "Costs and Results" based evaluations should be undertaken on a year-to-year basis, and subsequently made public.

Read the full report, written by Alexander Moens and Nachum Gabler, here.  Alexander Moens is a Senior Fellow at the Fraser Institute  and professor of Political Science at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and author and editor of various books on NATO and Canada-US relations.  Nachum Gabler is an economic at the Fraser Institute's Centre for Canadian-American Relations, and author of Combatting the Contraband Tobacco Trade in Canada and coauthor of What Congress Thinks of Canada, both published in 2011.