Leaders of various American and Canadian government and other agencies gathered at the Peace Bridge linking Fort Erie, Ontario, and Buffalo, New York, Monday morning for a snowy tour of phase two of a pilot project aimed at expediting the flow of legitimate trade and travel while ensuring border security and integrity. The project is part of 2011’s Beyond the Border (BTB) Action Plan.
BTB is a bi-lateral agreement aimed at guarding the long-term economic well-being and security of Americans and Canadians by easing border congestion, enhancing security, and improving the largest trading relationship in the world. This recently launched project under BTB will run up to one year to see if pre-clearance, done in Canada, of cargo trucks heading to the U.S. will ease congestion. The aim is to better manage the shared border and improve economic opportunities for both countries.
After a tour of the pilot project site, long-time advocate of such initiatives New York Senator Charles Schumer said the project was, “Win, win, win,” to which Canadian Minister of Public Safety Steven Blaney joked that his line had been stolen. Schumer gamely replied, “Gagnant gagnant-gagnant,” the French translation of win win win, giving everyone a good laugh.
Click here for a walk-through (or drive-through!) video about the pilot project put together by the Ontario Trucking Association.
