FORT ERIE, Ont. (Jan. 20, 2004) — Responsibility for unloading trucks during inspections at border points will shift over to a third party provider, the government recently announced.

The Canada Border Services Agency (formerly the Customs arm of the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency) will be starting this month an off-loading pilot project at the Fort Erie, Ont./Buffalo, N.Y. border crossing. Responsibility for unloading and reloading trucks will be transferred to a pre-approved designated service provider that meets CCRA’s security and operational conditions. At no time shall an employee of the CCRA at a DCO operate forklifts or tow motors, open containers, or engage in the offload or reload process, the agency announced.

Once a shipment has been identified for examination by the CCRA, the carrier will be notified and provided with the name, phone numbers, and address of the pre-approved service provider. The carrier will then have two hours to complete the transactions with the service provider and present their goods at a DCO for examination.

The service provider shall perform the entire process of offloading and reloading within the standards set by the CCRA — a maximum of six hours for a full offload of bulk goods, and four hours for a full offload of palletized goods.

CCRA has released the following fee structure for both palletized goods and bulk loads:

Monday – Friday, 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. exclusive of holidays: Minimum charge for the first hour of labour $80.48; Price per hour after the initial hour, per person $26.26.

Monday – Friday, 4:01 p.m. to 7:59 a.m. exclusive of holidays: Minimum charge for the first hour of labour $82.44; Price per hour after the initial hour, per person $28.22.

Weekends and Statutory Holidays: Minimum charge for the first hour of labour $90.28; Price per hour after the initial hour, per person $36.06.

Carriers are encouraged to comment on the offload policy and guidelines, as well as to provide any feedback to the Ontario Trucking Association should they experience any issues with the pilot once it commences.