Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) will continue to provide – and fund – border clearance services to Amtrak’s second daily train, which runs between Vancouver and Seattle.
“The extension of these services will ensure Canada continues to be a top destination for tourism,” Heritage Minister James Moore, who made the announcement on behalf of Minister of Public Safety Vic Toews, said in a press release.
“The services the CBSA provides play an important role in the promotion of trade, tourism and regional economic development.”
In his announcement, Moore said that CBSA’s services would be extended based on a business case submitted by the Washington State Department of Transportation on behalf of Amtrak.
Last year, the provision of the services in question cost CBSA $600,000.
The train began as a pilot project in 2009, in the build-up to the 2010 Winter Olympics. Post-Olympics, the train’s fate hung in the balance, with neither CBSA nor Amtrak keen to foot the bill for border clearance services.
In October 2010, the federal government announced CBSA would fund the pilot until October 2011.
“The Government of Canada is committed to the free flow of legitimate goods and people across the shared border with the United States, by providing the flexibility necessary for the CBSA and Amtrak to process the ongoing demand for their services,” Moore said.
Asked how long the service has been extended, CBSA communications personnel said: “The CBSA reviews core services provided at all eligible sites regularly, to confirm they meet the criteria for border clearance services, enabling the CBSA to assess whether the addition or expansion of services at the requesting eligible site is viable and sustainable.”
In January, federal Transport Minister Chuck Strahl told Business in Vancouver that Vancouver won’t be getting a bullet train to Seattle anytime soon. (See “No Vancouver-Seattle bullet train in near future: Strahl” – BIV Business Today, January 20.)
Jenny Wagler
Twitter: JennyWagler_BIV