MONTREAL — The Chamber of Marine Commerce is calling on Ottawa to allow international containers into smaller ports by bolstering customs clearance on the docks.
The trade group says adding customs facilities to six ports on the St. Lawrence Seaway and Great Lakes would improve shipping efficiency, cut truck congestion and reduce reliance on the United States.
Currently, just five ports across the country have Canada Border Services Agency officers on hand to examine some of the millions of international shipping containers that arrive by boat.
Chamber spokesman Maguessa Morel-Laforce says a study it commissioned found that outfitting the half-dozen inland ports with customs processing would ease bottlenecks at the Port of Montreal and generate $132 million in business income.
The push to boost CBSA capacity follows a similar demand last month from cities along the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence whose mayors argued that Canada lost out on revenue and jobs due to customs-equipped American ports along the route.
Prime Minister Mark Carney said last month he wants to fast-track expansion of the Port of Montreal, one of five major infrastructure projects green-lit by the federal government — though no other ports made it on the list.
©2025 The Canadian Press
