Cleared in Canada: Expediting Passengers to Strengthen U.S. Security and the Economy

Statement from CSIS

On December 4, 2015, CSIS held a public event on airport security preclearance entitled, "Cleared in Canada: Expediting Passengers to Strengthen U.S. Security and the Economy." The purpose of the event was to look at the policy dimensions of expedited security procedures. The event was moderated by a CSIS non-resident affiliate rather than a CSIS employee. CSIS conducts over 1500 public events each year, with very few hosted by non-CSIS employees. When CSIS agreed to host the event, sponsored by the Greater Toronto Airports Authority and Air Canada, we misunderstood the nature of the relationship that existed between the moderator of the event and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority. This constituted a lapse in oversight from CSIS. Given our stated policies regarding ethics and transparency, CSIS has decided to refuse to accept any funding for this event and to post this public notice that this event did not meet our standards of transparency and integrity. CSIS's reputation is based on independent, bipartisan policy judgment. This reputation has been built over decades of honest analysis. Part of holding ourselves to high standards is recognizing when we have fallen short.

Cleared in Canada: Expediting Passengers to Strengthen U.S. Security and the Economy

In the midst of tough economic times and a growing world economy, Congress and the administration are looking for innovative ways to maintain and enhance current levels of security while supporting job creation, tourism, and trade. The U.S. economy greatly benefits from the expedited clearance of passengers and suffers when processing delays result in cancellations or denied requests for additional service. Ensuring passengers are processed in a timely and efficient manner is vital to the economic growth of many of America's key regions, especially those areas that lack adequate CBP operations to directly welcome international traffic.

Featuring:

Paul Benda
Principal, Global Security & Innovative Strategies
HSCP Affiliate, CSIS

Howard Eng
President and CEO, Greater Toronto Airports Authority

Fitti Lourenco
Director, Government Affairs, Air Canada

Kurry Pastilong
Assistant Director, Preclearance Operations, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, DHS

Moderated by:
C. Stewart Verdery, Jr.
Founder, Monument Policy Group
HSCP Affiliate, Center for Strategic and International Studies
 

This event is part of the CSIS Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program Series, which investigates the ways the United States can improve domestic security in a growing and complex international environment.

It was made possible by support from the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA) and Air Canada.