GC No. 027/07
For release July 16, 2007
FORT ERIE, ONTARIO — Canada's New Government and the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority today officially opened the new Canada Border Services Agency Peace Bridge Travellers Operations Building, the Peace Bridge Refugee Processing Unit and the Peace Bridge Newcomers Centre. It was also an opportunity to celebrate the completion of the redevelopment of the Peace Bridge plaza, which will help reduce border congestion and expand infrastructure capacity.
The announcement was made by the Honourable Rob Nicholson, M.P. (Niagara Falls) and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada; and Mr. Anthony Annunziata, chairman of the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, on the Canadian plaza of the Peace Bridge.
"The Peace Bridge is a vital link for trade and is one of the great gateways to this nation," said Minister Nicholson. "The redevelopment of the Peace Bridge plaza is an important step towards ensuring that this border crossing remains open, effective, efficient and secure."
"Canada's New Government is committed to enhancing the safety and security of Canada's border crossings, as well as investing in infrastructure improvements that help increase efficiency and reduce congestion," said the Honourable Lawrence Cannon, Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities.
The redevelopment includes improvements to both the Canadian and American plazas. The completed projects include:
construction of the new Peace Bridge Travellers Operations Building to house the Canada Border Services Agency;
construction of a new shared facility for the Peace Bridge Refugee Processing Unit and the Peace Bridge Newcomers Centre;
construction of the Peace Bridge Authority Administration Building to house administration functions;
relocation of the toll band from the American plaza to the Canadian plaza;
relocation and increase in the number of primary inspection lanes on the Canadian plaza;
construction of an elevated employee walkway;
site work required by the plaza reconfiguration;
improvements to general security on the plazas;
construction of three additional primary truck inspection booths on the American plaza; and
construction of a truck staging area on the Canadian plaza.
"The Peace Bridge Authority is pleased that we were able to partner with the Canadian government in completing a critically important project enhancing the functionality and efficiency of this international bridge," said Mr. Annunziata. "The travelling public and the business community will be well served by these improvements."
The Peace Bridge improvement projects are valued at $50 million and were cost-shared by the Government of Canada and the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority. The federal funding of up to $21 million came from the Border Infrastructure Fund, which provides funding for infrastructure enhancement projects that improve the capacity, efficiency and security at Canada's key border crossings. The fund also supports the Canada – U.S. Smart Border Declaration Action Plan.
The Peace Bridge is Canada's second busiest border crossing, handling 5.5 million cars and 1.3 million trucks in 2006.
For more information on the Border Infrastructure Fund, please visit www.tc.gc.ca/pol/en/tbwg/311.htm.
Backgrounders with more information on the Border Infrastructure Fund, the new buildings opened today, as well as the Peace Bridge and its redevelopment, are attached.
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Contacts:
Natalie Sarafian
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Transport, Infrastructure and Communities, Ottawa
613-991-0700
Ron Rienas
General Manager
Buffalo and Fort Erie
Public Bridge Authority, Fort Erie
905-871-1608 ext. 226
Nicole McNeely
Communications
Transport Canada, Ottawa
613-993-0055
Jean D'Amelio Swyer
Communications
Canada Border Services Agency, Niagara
905-354-2011
Transport Canada is online at www.tc.gc.ca.
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BACKGROUNDER
BORDER INFRASTRUCTURE FUND
Border infrastructure is critical to our growing economic and trade relationship with the United States. The $600-million Border Infrastructure Fund supports the initiatives in the Smart Border Declaration Action Plan by reducing border congestion and expanding infrastructure capacity over the medium term.
The plan is based on four pillars:
the secure flow of people;
the secure flow of goods;
secure infrastructure; and
information-sharing and co-ordination in the enforcement of these objectives.
The Free and Secure Trade (FAST) program revolutionizes the way commercial shipments move across the Canada-U.S. border and will result in a streamlined clearance process and greater efficiency in the shipment of goods.
Similarly, the Canada-U.S. border-wide "fast-lane" program called NEXUS, aims at speeding the flow of pre-screened low-risk travellers.
The $600-million Border Infrastructure Fund ensures that the necessary investments are made to support and enhance the benefits of NEXUS and FAST.
As some 70 per cent of Canada-U.S. cross-border truck traffic goes through just six crossings, Canada needs to improve the efficiency at these border points. Most of the funding available through the Border Infrastructure Fund will be invested in Windsor, Sarnia, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie, in Ontario; in Douglas, British Columbia; and in Lacolle, Quebec.
Funding is available to address capacity and congestion problems at other crossings.
July 2007
BACKGROUNDER
NEW PEACE BRIDGETRAVELLERS OPERATIONS BUILDING
The Peace Bridge was completed and officially opened to traffic in June 1927, connecting
Fort Erie, Ontario to Buffalo, New York. Its name came from the commemoration of more than
100 years of peace between the United States and Canada. It is a premier international border crossing providing access to many world-renowned travel destinations in the Golden Horseshoe, the Greater Toronto Area and New York State.
The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority maintains the Peace Bridge. The Authority’s mission is to provide a safe, efficient, environmentally sensitive, and cost-effective channel for international travellers, and to positively impact trade and tourism locally, regionally, nationally and internationally.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is responsible for providing integrated border services that support national security and public safety priorities and facilitate the free flow of persons and goods, including animals and plants, that meet all requirements under the program legislation. State-of-the-art facilities, like the new Peace Bridge Travellers Operations Building, assist in fulfilling CBSA’s mission to ensure the security and prosperity of Canada by managing the access of people and goods to and from Canada.
The new CBSA Peace Bridge Travellers Operations Building was officially opened in March 2007. It includes 15 primary inspection lanes, including a NEXUS lane. Border Services Officers at the Peace Bridge process the majority of commuters in the region, including a large number of business people as well as students who attend colleges and universities in Buffalo and the surrounding area.
Last fiscal year, 5,825,359 vehicles crossed the Peace Bridge, making it the second busiest border crossing in Canada, with 140,321 referrals for immigration secondary examinations. There were 3,837 visitor documents issued, including work permits and study permits, and 2,551 new permanent residents landed in Canada. The Peace Bridge Travellers Operations Building also has 14 daily crossings of regularly scheduled bus runs from New York City to Toronto, processing 15,616 buses during the last fiscal year.
July 2007
BACKGROUNDER
REFUGEE PROCESSING UNIT
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) moved into the newly constructed building which houses the Refugee Processing Unit (RPU) and the Newcomers Centre in December 2006. The RPU is the only unit of its kind in Canada. The new building is located on the Canadian Peace Bridge Plaza in Fort Erie, Ontario and is adjacent to the new Peace Bridge Travellers Operations Building.
The RPU accepts refugee claims that are made spontaneously at the ports of entry and also by appointment, as co-ordinated through Viva La Casa, a shelter located in Buffalo, New York. All front end processing is completed at the RPU prior to the claimant being allowed forward into Canada. The RPU currently has one supervisor, eight uniformed staff and three support staff. Last fiscal year, the RPU intake totalled 2,402 refugee claims.
PEACE BRIDGE NEWCOMERS CENTRE
The purpose of the Centre is to provide first step assistance for refugee claimants immediately upon their arrival in Canada including:
hospitality needs;
basic information and orientation; and
linkages to services in the communities they choose to settle in.
The Centre is conveniently located in shared facilities with the CBSA’s RPU, at the Peace Bridge Fort Erie border. The Centre is operated and managed by the Fort Erie Multicultural Centre, and funded by the Ontario Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration, the Region of Niagara Children’s Services Department, the Ontario Trillium Foundation, the CBSA and the Canadian Tire Family Foundation. The Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority, Salvation Army Family Services, Red Cross Niagara Branch and Region of Niagara Children’s Services are key partners.
The Douglas Memorial Hospital Foundation, KAIROS (Canadian Ecumenical Justice Initiatives), Speaker Maybee Foundation, Niagara Community Foundation and various private organizations have provided funding for the Centre.
The main goals of the Centre include:
early health assessment and intervention to ensure citizens are healthy and to prevent costly reactive care and exposure to others;
a reduced number of refugee claimants who become homeless or live in long term emergency housing, which indirectly reduces the number of individuals forced into a costly secondary migration pattern;
quicker processing for legal and medical federal requirements;
more efficient processing of the volume of refugee claimants;
enabling a more comprehensive, coordinated and cost-effective delivery of services in one location;
a communication system to ensure that refugee claimants can receive supportive services; and
an increased number of people settling in Fort Erie and the Niagara Region, which will help meet labour market needs by contributing to a cultural, professional and skilled population in the region.
The need for the Peace Bridge Newcomers Centre
Fort Erie is the largest land port of entry for refugee claimants in Canada. There is strong evidence that suggests that providing social and health services to refugees immediately upon arrival enables their early and sustainable settlement. Those who settle quickly and permanently are more likely to become healthy, contributing citizens.
The Newcomers Centre links newcomers with support in the following areas:
basic needs;
medical and mental health needs;
settlement and housing needs;
legal needs; and
community needs.
July 2007
BACKGROUNDER
PEACE BRIDGE
Design Vision
"A border crossing is the initial contact a visitor has with Canada. That first impression will be reinforced with each repeat visit, building a strong perception of our country. The image that should be embodied in an architectural form is one of permanence, good will towards citizens and visitors and meticulous attention to doing things well and correctly."
(Land Border Design Guide, 2003)
The Peace Bridge has been the site of human settlement and trade for more than 10,000 years. From the outset it was the intent of the Peace Bridge Authority (PBA) to honour and symbolize First Nations history and culture in a distinctive design for the plaza and buildings.
The chosen design was selected in early 2004 through a design competition by an 18-member architectural jury. NORR Limited Architects and Engineers was the winning firm.
Overall, the design theme is distinctively Canadian with an emphasis on wood, stone, and water throughout. The striking and timeless architectural design is a composition of sculpturally evocative landmark buildings integrated with the landscape. The Canada Border Services Agency Peace Bridge Travellers Operations Building symbolizes both the shelter provided by a native long house as well as a canoe which was the earliest form of transportation to cross the Niagara River.
The buildings incorporate the latest environmentally sustainable design features, including high efficiency boilers, heat wheels, state-of-the-art computerized control and management systems and positive air systems in all inspection booths. Extensive landscaping using indigenous trees and plant materials has been incorporated into the site.
While a grand gateway into Canada has been created, the primary purpose of the Border Infrastructure Fund is to improve traffic efficiency and reduce congestion while enhancing security and improving the free flow of trade, commerce, and tourists between Canada and the United States. This has been accomplished by relocating PBA tolls and administration to Canada allowing the reconfiguration of the U.S. plaza to increase commercial throughput by 75 per cent. The reconfiguration of the Canadian plaza has resulted in 2-1/2 times more plaza space, thereby keeping queued traffic off the bridge and allowing trucks to access their inspection facilities without delay.
July 2007
