NEWS RELEASES

December 17, 2004 (11:50 EST)
No. 152

HALIFAX INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT GAINS UNITED STATES PRECLEARANCE

The Government of Canada today announced that the United States has agreed to extend the Canada-U.S. preclearance program to Halifax International Airport. Minister of Public Works and Government Services Scott Brison made the announcement at a ceremony at Halifax International Airport on behalf of Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Transport Minister Jean-C. Lapierre.

“The preclearance program offers a huge level of convenience for travellers from Atlantic Canada heading to the United States,” said Minister Brison. “Our goods and services sector will benefit from short wait times, and our tourist industry will benefit because of increased ease of travel.”

“I am pleased that this will facilitate safe travel and transport of goods from Atlantic Canada to the United States,” said Minister Pettigrew. “This decision furthers our work in enhancing cross border security. It will also be a great convenience for hundreds of thousands of Canadians, Americans and others travelling from the region to the United States. This is a win for both countries.”

“This announcement exemplifies the continuing and expanding cooperation on air services between Canada and the United States,” said Minister Lapierre. “It will make travel easier and more efficient for passengers, and benefit the airlines that serve the Canada-U.S. market through Halifax.”

The United States has agreed to extend preclearance to Halifax as soon as the airport’s new preclearance facility is completed. Halifax becomes the eighth Canadian airport to offer preclearance, in addition to Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal.

The program allows travellers and their goods to be inspected by U.S. preclearance officers for the purposes of customs, immigration, public health, food inspection, and plant and animal health before flights depart from Canada for U.S. destinations. This enables travellers to be treated as domestic passengers on arrival in the U.S., where they can enjoy shorter and easier connections to other U.S. cities, as well as direct access to U.S. airports that have no customs and immigration inspection facilities.

Preclearance is part of the joint Canada-U.S. Smart Border Declaration and 32-point Action Plan. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Anne McLellan and U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge are meeting today in Detroit, Michigan, to release the fifth progress report on implementation of the Smart Border agenda and to discuss future cooperation.

For more information on the Smart Border Action Plan, please visit http://www.can-am.gc.ca.

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Sébastien Théberge
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs
(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office
Foreign Affairs Canada and International Trade Canada
(613) 995-1874
http://www.international.gc.ca

Irène Marcheterre
Director of Communications
Office of the Minister of Transport
(613) 991-0700

Renée David
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Public Works and Government Services
(819) 997-5421