Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan Opens Douglas Border-Crossing Facility

(Canada NewsWire)

The Honourable Peter Van Loan, Minister of Public Safety, joined by Russ Hiebert, Member of Parliament for South Surrey-White Rock-Cloverdale, today officially opened the new port of entry facility in Douglas, British Columbia. This modern and environmentally friendly facility will provide improved service to the public crossing the border between Blaine, Washington, and Surrey, British Columbia, in time for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

“Our government is strengthening security at our border while facilitating the flow of goods and people,” said Minister Van Loan. “This new and modern facility demonstrates how we are meeting these two goals through investing in better infrastructure for our border facilities.”

The Douglas port of entry is one of the busiest ports of entry in Canada, processing more than 2 million vehicles and over 3 million travellers each year. The new facility has been designed to meet current and future operational needs, including the use of new technologies. It has increased the number of processing lanes from seven to ten, two of which can be used as dedicated NEXUS lanes for trusted travellers. This will translate into reduced transit times for travellers.

The construction included many innovative environmental and energy efficient strategies to minimize the environmental footprint of the new facility. The building design is being considered for the prestigious Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Gold certification.