U.S. Congress passes border bill, paves way to reforms

A bill with potentially sweeping consequences for the Canada-U.S. border has just been adopted by the American Congress, allowing new projects aimed at speeding up travel through the international boundary.

The so-called preclearance bill has now been adopted by both U.S. legislative chambers after being passed by the Senate early Saturday. It’s now expected to become law with President Barack Obama’s signature.

Officials in both countries celebrated the news. The project has involved both U.S. political parties and the Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau governments, yet some participants had begun worrying it might stall from inertia.

The pilot projects will take place at Montreal’s train station and on Western Canada’s Rocky Mountaineer train line.

The projects will establish U.S. customs offices on the Canadian side of the border allowing travellers, in theory, to get screened more quickly, zip through the actual border and ease the logjams that slow travel and commerce.

Preclearance will feel familiar to many Canadians. That’s because 12 million passengers already use it each year at Canadian airports, eight of which have U.S. customs facilities. The latest Trudeau-Obama deal extended that to two more airports: Toronto’s Billy Bishop and Quebec City’s Jean Lesage.

The more significant change is that the new agreements allow the system to be extended to every mode of transportation: first trains, then buses and potentially someday even car travel might be able to clear the border earlier.

The agreements also allow American customs agents to carry weapons within Canada, question people and detain, but not arrest, them. The legislation that passed Saturday also allows agents accused of crimes at work to be prosecuted in the U.S.