The new site will cost Ottawa $7.4 million, money allocated in the 2021 federal budget
Ottawa appears ready to establish its first Canada Border Service Agency (CBSA) preclearance site on U.S. soil in 2025.
Preclearance will allow travellers bound for Canada through a Quebec-New York border crossing to clear customs while still stateside.
U.S. border agents have maintained a similar presence in Canada since 1952 under varying agreements and currently operate preclearance sites at eight major Canadian airports and a marine site in B.C.
Like those interactions with U.S. customs and border security agents, Canadian border security officers at the new preclearance area will inspect travellers and goods — screening for dangerous and illicit items as they would at any staffed port of entry — to determine whether they can leave the U.S. and enter Canada.
With the exception of refugee protection claims, CBSA said it will process most types of immigration documents through the preclearance site.
Why is Canada setting up a preclearance site in the U.S.?
In March 2015, the two countries signed a new treaty governing preclearance in land, rail, marine and air transport. Canada’s obligations to that pact went into effect when the Preclearance Act was passed into law in 2017.
Like the U.S. sites in Canada, the goal in heading south is “to facilitate the free flow of legitimate persons and goods, including animals and plants,” across the border.
Ottawa also thinks preclearance might be a better way of spending money to beef up the border instead of investing in the “80 small and remote” points of entry along the nearly 9,000 kilometres of border, “many of which are in various states of disrepair.”
Where is the preclearance pilot project?
The two-year initiative will see CBSA officers stationed alongside their American counterparts at the existing border facility at the Cannon Corners border crossing, just outside of the small town of Mooers in upstate New York.
About 200 metres away on the Canadian side, the aging Covey Hill station outside the town of Havelock, Que., will be closed during the project.
The crossing is a one-hour drive from Montreal, a two-hour and 20-minute drive outside Ottawa and close to six from Toronto.
The new site will cost Ottawa $7.4 million, money allocated in the 2021 federal budget.
Why choose a remote border crossing?
A pilot project at a larger, busier crossing risks adding to wait times and traffic volume.
She noted about 80 per cent of the people using the crossing are Canadians, many of whom are local area residents.
Where are U.S. preclearance sites in Canada?
Eight of Canada’s 14 international airports host U.S. customs and border security agents: Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto (Pearson), Vancouver, and Winnipeg.
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport, while not classified as an international facility by Nav Canada but still one of the busiest U.S.-bound flight departure sites in the country, is due to get its own U.S. preclearance site.
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