Defence industry pushes for reform of US export controls

Friday, Nov 14, 2008

Canada's aerospace industry is requesting federal officials press their American counterparts to expand an agreement allowing dual nationals to work on joint high-level military-related projects.

The dual-nationality issue has hampered Canadian defence and security firms for years because American International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) prohibit secure data from being exported to Canadian companies who employ certain workers – in particular, employees holding citizenship from countries the United States deems sponsors of terrorism or in non-compliance with nuclear or biological weapon treaties.

Around a year ago, an agreement was reached between the two governments permitting federal public servants holding a 'secret' security clearance to have access to ITAR material, regardless of whether they hold dual citizenship, says Ron Kane, the vice-president of the Ottawa-based Aerospace Industries Association of Canada (AIAC).

""We now have our (precedent) that has been set in terms of Canadian government employees. Our want is to get that same approach extended to encompass Canadian industry,"" says Mr. Kane, adding most defence and aerospace companies already have their employees cleared at the secret level.

He says his organization is also advocating for individuals to be assessed on their inherent security risk, as opposed to their citizenship.

""An individual born in Canada could pose just as much of a security risk as someone who immigrated to Canada from another country. You have to look at the behaviour of individuals, not their nationalities,"" he says.

Mr. Kane says he has seen efforts on the part of the U.S. State Department to make ITAR more efficient by shortening licence approval timelines, and examining whether certain dated technologies covered by the regulations still pose a security risk.

Businesses were not expecting any breakthroughs this year because of elections on both sides of the border, but hope serious discussions can resume in the new year. Likewise, Tim Page, president of the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries, says it's reasonable to expect the new Barack Obama administration will examine ITAR in its first term.

""Our two economies in the defence and security industries have become deeply integrated. So any regulation or legislation that impedes the ability of defence and security companies on either side of the border to do business with each other is not helpful.