Key Issues

The Status of Border Pre-Clearance

In the early 1990's, as a follow-up to the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, the governments of the United States and Canada negotiated an agreement that was designed to create a border that:

1. permits commercial goods and legitimate travelers to flow easily between both countries;
2. allows business travelers and commuters tot ravel unimpeded, and;
3. permits friends and relatives in both countries to visit each other with minimal formalities.

This "Accord on our Shared Border" was formally announced on February 24, 1995, by Prime Minister Cretien and President Clinton.

On the strength of this Accord the PBA embarked on a major reconfiguration of the Canadian plaza and lands on the south side of the QEW. It involved significant land acquisition and road re-alignments to alleviate traffic congestion at the foot of the bridge. This work was done to accommodate the relocation of U.S. Customs and PBA tolls to Canada. The Commercial Vehicle Processing Centre (CVPC) which opened in 1999 was not the final intended purpose for these lands; the CVPC was a concept developed to facilitate commercial traffic due to the inability at the time to relocate U.S. Customs personnel to Fort Erie. The PBA, however, did in 2005 relocate its tolls and administrative facilities to Canada.

The tragic events of 9/11 had a profound impact on the border. The creation of the Department of Homeland Security, passage of the PATRIORT Act and Trade Act, implementation of NEXUS and FAST programs, the recommendation of the 9/11 Commission have dramatically affected the operation of the Peace Bridge. In recognition of these new border realities the governments of Canada and the U.S. on December 11, 2001, signed the Smart Border Declaration and its companion 30-point action plan reiterating to a large extent the 1995 Accord and including the concept of shared border facilities.

On December 17, 2004, Deputy Prime Minister McLellan and Homeland Security Secretary Ridge signed the framework to proceed with land pre-clearance at the Peace Bridge with the relocation of all U.S. primary and secondary operations for both commercial and passenger traffic from Buffalo to Fort Erie. Accordingly, the PBA amended its environmental documents to include border pre-clearance (Shared Border Management) as a plaza alternative.

On April 26, 2007, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) advised the Canadian government that negotiations for implementation of border pre-clearance had reached an impasse. DHS was not able to perform its security and law enforcement authorities in Canada without contravening the Canadian Charter of Rights.

However, notwithstanding this impasse, the border pre-clearance plaza alternative remains in the Draft Environmental Impact Statement in the event that the two governments do come to some sort of agreement prior to the preferred alternative being selected. The border pre-clearance alternative can only be selected as the preferred alternative if it is legally permissible to implement.