Agreement aimed at clearing delays at customs

OTTAWA A new agreement between Canada and the United States will soon allow travellers and cargo to pre-clear customs before they leave, allowing an easier movement of people and goods crossing the border.

Canadian air travellers have been able to clear customs before flying to the U.S. for decades at Canadian airports, letting them skip lineups when they land in the United States.

The two countries have agreed to add U.S. preclearance operations at Billy Bishop airport in Toronto and Jean Lesage airport in Quebec City.

The new agreement extends preclearance for travellers crossing by land, rail and sea.

Early stages of planning are underway for pre-clearances for train passengers travelling from Montreal into New York and on the Rocky Mountaineer railway in British Columbia, which extends into Washington state.

Preclearance operations will be expanded to additional airports, and will, for the first time, allow pre-clearances of cargo travelling across the border.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and President Donald Trump announced Thursday that they intend to implement the new preclearance agreement this summer as part of a deal that has been in the works for years.

“Delays at the border can easily disrupt operations for Canadian and American business owners, so we want to remove some of these obstacles to expand trade while keeping our people safe,” Trudeau told reporters Thursday.

“(The preclearance agreement) is going to ensure our border remains safe as we move forward with greater back-and-forth of our goods and our people,” he added. “That is something that is fundamental and essential to Canadians.”

Trudeau didn’t say when travellers will see the new measures in place.

The agreement was first announced in 2015 but required a number of regulatory changes in both countries before it could be enacted. Canada passed its legislation in 2017.

While air travellers from the U.S. have long been able to clear U.S. customs before coming to Canada, flyers going from Canada to the U.S. have not. Canada could have implemented a similar model to the one used by the U.S. but has chosen not to.

Decisions on how and where the newly expanded preclearance measures will be rolled out will also be based on a “careful assessment of the benefits and costs of preclearance at specific locations for passengers and cargo,” said Scott Bardsley, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale.

Sites chosen for preclearance are voluntary and market-driven, he added.

As for when cargo preclearance will get underway, Bardsley said Canada will proceed gradually, using pilot projects.

One has already been launched at the border checkpoint between Lacolle, Que., and Rouses Point, N.Y.