<html>
<head>
<meta name="Generator" content="Corel WordPerfect 8">
<title>CANADA-U.S. AGREEMENT TO IMPROVE PRECLEARANCE SERVICES AT CANADIAN AIRPORTS</title>
</head>
<body text="#000000" link="#0000ff" vlink="#551a8b" alink="#ff0000" bgcolor="#c0c0c0">
<p><font size="+1"><strong>May 2, 2003 <em>(10:15 a.m. EDT)</em> No. 46</strong></font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font size="+1"><strong>CANADA-U.S. AGREEMENT TO IMPROVE PRECLEARANCE SERVICES AT CANADIAN
AIRPORTS</strong></font></p>
<p>Transport Minister David Collenette and Foreign Affairs Minister Bill Graham today announced that Canada and the
United States have implemented a new bilateral Agreement on Air Transport Preclearance. </p>
<p>"This Agreement is an example of continuing and expanding cooperation on air services between Canada and the United
States," said Mr. Collenette. "It will make travel easier and provide clear benefits to Canadian airports and airlines."</p>
<p>"This preclearance agreement reflects the long-standing partnership between our two countries, and it demonstrates the
commitment of the Government of Canada to continue to work closely with the United States to improve and modernize
our shared border," said Minister Graham.</p>
<p>The Agreement outlines the system under which the United States provides passenger preclearance services at Canadian
airports. It gives limited authority to U.S. preclearance officers to perform customs, immigration, public health, food
inspection and plant and animal health processing to clear travellers and their goods at Canadian airports, for entry into the
United States. It is a reciprocal agreement, affording the same authority to Canadian preclearance officers, should Canada
put them in place at U.S. airports in the future. The Agreement is implemented in accordance with Canada's Preclearance
Act.</p>
<p>Under the Agreement, Canadian airports with preclearance will also be eligible to introduce in transit preclearance. Under
this arrangement, travellers from third countries en route to the United States need not go through Canadian inspections, but
may proceed directly to U.S. preclearance. It makes participating Canadian airports, and the airlines serving them, more
competitive for international travellers going to the U.S. Vancouver airport has had a successful pilot project for in transit
preclearance since 1997.</p>
<p>Bringing the new Agreement into force is one of the items outlined in the Canada- U.S. Smart Border Declaration and its
companion 30-point Action Plan, signed by Deputy Prime Minister John Manley and Secretary of Homeland Security Tom
Ridge on December 12, 2001. </p>
<p>The United States has provided preclearance services at certain Canadian airports for more than 50 years and currently
operates under the 1974 Canada-U.S. Air Transport Preclearance Agreement. Since the successful liberalization of the
Canada-United States aviation agreement in 1995, both countries have explored ways to update and improve preclearance.
The conclusion of the new preclearance agreement marks the culmination of extensive consultations with Canadian air
carriers and airports, and between the two governments.</p>
<p>U.S. preclearance processes about 10 million passengers annually at Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Toronto,
Ottawa and Montreal. </p>
<p align="CENTER">- 30 -</p>
<p>For further information, media representatives may contact:</p>
<p>Amy Butcher</p>
<p>Press Secretary</p>
<p>Office of the Minister of Transport</p>
<p>(613) 991-0700</p>
<p>Isabelle Savard</p>
<p>Director of Communications</p>
<p>Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs</p>
<p>(613) 995-1851</p>
<p>Media Relations Office</p>
<p>Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade</p>
<p>(613) 995-1874</p>
<p>This document is also available on the Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade's Internet site:
<a href="https://bac-lac.wayback.archive-it.org/web/20070221230339/http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/">http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca</a></p>
</body>
</html>
