OTTAWA, June 17, 2016 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada remains committed to making it faster and easier to travel from Canada into the United States.
Today, the Honourable Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, announced the introduction of legislation in the House of Commons to expand the highly popular and effective preclearance agreement with the United States.
The preclearance initiative builds on the significant progress made during the Prime Minister's official visit to Washington. There, Prime Minister Trudeau and President Obama agreed in principle to expand preclearance to a number of new Canadian locations, including Quebec's Jean Lesage International Airport, Toronto's Billy Bishop City Airport, Montreal Central Station and the Rocky Mountaineer.
The expansion – which now includes passage by land, water and train – will allow more Canadians to enjoy the benefits of preclearance, which include direct access to more U.S. destinations, and greater economic growth for local economies that will benefit from increased tourism.
Quotes
"Today, the Government of Canada demonstrated its commitment to strengthening its relationship with the United States and to ensuring a more efficient and secure border, by introducing the legislation required to implement the Canada–U.S. Preclearance Agreement. When it takes effect, the Agreement will provide the legal framework that will enable the expansion of preclearance operations in all modes of transportation – land, rail, marine and air – including the locations announced by Prime Minister Trudeau and President Obama in March 2016."
– Ralph Goodale, Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness
"This legislation is an important step towards ensuring the efficient flow of people and goods between our two countries in all transportation modes. We are pleased to build on our long history of successful preclearance operations by introducing a bill that, when passed, will enable us to ratify the new agreement on preclearance."
– Marc Garneau, Minister of Transportation
"Preclearance is a major achievement for both governments, enhancing travel and trade to facilitate robust economies, and increasing efficiency and predictability in cross-border tourism and transportation. I look forward to continuing to work together as international partners to ensure our collective security."
– Jeh Johnson, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security
Quick Facts
- Preclearance operations currently take place at eight Canadian airports: Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal and Halifax.
- Immigration pre-inspection is also conducted at multiple locations in British Columbia in the rail and marine modes.
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SOURCE Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada
CONTACT: Scott Bardsley, Office of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, 613-998-5681; Media Relations, Public Safety Canada, 613-991-0657
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