U.S. to focus on unclogging Canada-U.S. land border crossings

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration has agreed to examine the possibility of opening U.S. customs facilities within Canada to help speed trade across the nations' land borders, Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan said Wednesday.

Following meetings with the White House and Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, Van Loan said he had "gained a commitment" to open talks aimed at unclogging Canada-U.S. land border crossings by pre-clearing vehicles in advance of their arrival at the boundary.

"The arrival of the Obama administration presents us with an opportunity to strengthen our relationship with the United States, and I believe we are doing that," Van Loan told reporters at the Canadian Embassy in Washington.

Canada has long sought to win U.S. support for land border pre-clearance facilities for commercial vehicles, similar to those already open in most major airports for air passengers. The Bush administration rejected the idea, but "we did gain a commitment today to examine that issue again," Van Loan said.

The minister said he suggested Canadian and U.S. officials examine the possibility of a pilot project along the Detroit-Windsor corridor because "that's a particular choke point" for cross-border trade.

Van Loan and Napolitano also agreed to hold twice-yearly meetings, for the first time formalizing regular cabinet level contacts to deal with potential border security irritants.

"This is a very significant and positive development for Canada," Van Loan said. "It is a mechanism that has been absent to date."

Van Loan also met with John Brennan, President Barack Obama's assistant on homeland security, and Senator Joe Lieberman, chairman of the Senate homeland security committee.

While the minister said he discussed a range of issues with his American counterparts, Van Loan acknowledged he did not raise one of the biggest irritants between Canada and the former Bush administration — the U.S treatment of Maher Arar.

"I did not canvas that issue today," Van Loan said.

The Harper government had regularly protested the Bush administration's decision to keep Arar on a no-fly list despite being cleared in Canada of any connections to terror.

"I'm happy to raise it again in the future," Van Loan said when asked why he did not press Arar's case with the new administration. "We have raised it in the past. We're familiar with the American position on it, and we'll see if that changes."

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