Another Step towards Canadian & U.S Integration- American customs officers in Canada

By Carolyn Thompson, The Associated Press
FORT ERIE, Ont. - Canada and the U.S. launched a pilot program Monday (Feb 24th) that allows American customs officers to inspect U.S.-bound cargo trucks in Canada, a move both countries hope will expedite the flow of trade and travel.

Authorities will watch to see whether pre-inspecting trucks on the roomier Canadian side of the Peace Bridge will reduce wait times and pollution-causing idling on the 86-year-old span between Fort Erie, Ont., and Buffalo, N.Y.

The bridge handled 1.2 million truck trips and more than $40 billion in trade last year, making it the third-busiest truck crossing on the U.S.-Canada border. The three-lane span also saw more than 4.7 million passenger cars, more than any other port of entry.

With the U.S. side of the bridge lacking space to increase capacity, lawmakers have for several years wanted to shift some inspections to Canada. But they faced a myriad of jurisdictional and other obstacles, including objections to armed U.S. officers working in Canada, which only recently armed its border officers.

The test program is the second phase of a pilot called for in the Beyond the Border Action Plan signed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and U.S. President Barack Obama in December 2011.

Phase 1 got underway in June at the Pacific Highway Crossing in British Columbia to test the feasibility of certain technology and procedures. The second phase will test the effect on wait times and border congestion.

Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Steven Blaney, who was at the Peace Bridge Monday, along with U.S. Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, said the program will enhance the movement of people and goods across the Canada-U.S. border.

“I’m very happy that Phase II is taking place in Fort Erie, where cross-border travel and trade is essential,” he said.
~ Continue Reading…

 

buffalonews.com
“David Bradley, president and CEO of the Canadian Trucking Alliance, which represents 4,500 trucking companies, said the pilot is “conceptually a good idea.”

But it creates a new rolling stop on the U.S. side for trucks that have been pre-inspected in Canada.

The first pre-inspection pilot program, in Blaine, Wash., and Surrey, British Columbia, created some delays for trucks, though that program was testing the technology more than anything else, Bradley said.

“The experience certainly for truckers raised an awareness with us; we have to make sure that we get it right,” he said.

The Peace Bridge pilot allows two pre-inspection booths for U.S.-bound trucks on the Canadian side of the bridge, where radiation screening and basic primary processing will be performed. The U.S. inspections on the Canadian side will operate from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Thursday during the pilot, which will last from six to 12 months.

Here’s how it works:

• Trucks wanting to enter the U.S. via the Peace Bridge will be pre-inspected at Fort Erie. About 10 percent of trucks end up requiring secondary inspection, and those must stop on the U.S. side of the bridge.

Drivers won’t know if they are good to go or if they need a secondary inspection until they reach the U.S. side. A U.S. Customs official in Fort Erie will alert a U.S. Customs official in Buffalo to let them know if the truck should get a red or green light.

The speed of that alert is what concerns Bradley.

“The best model would be a real preclearance, where you clear on this side, and if you’re clear, away you go,” said Bradley, who was one of about 100 people who traveled to the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority’s office in Fort Erie for the pilot kick-off. “
~ SOURCE

There will be essentially two stops for the US-bound truck drivers. One before the border and one at the border and apparently they’re hoping this lessens congestion of traffic? And one thing that wasn’t too clear is, will the US customs agents be armed?

For a truck driver to idle for an hour can cost them up to $100.00. It made mention that the first phase in British Columbia prevailed delays for trucks so only time will tell how the second phase will go. In all this is perpetuation of an incremental step to condition the masses of Canadian and U.S integration.


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