Ottawa pleased that U.S. won’t impose new border fees

OTTAWA – The federal government is breathing a sigh of relief after a U.S. Senate committee rejected a proposal to collect fees at land border crossings.

Government House Leader Peter Van Loan says he’s pleased the potential fees have been quashed.

He says they would have damaged the Canadian and U.S. economies.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security had wanted Congress to authorize the study of a fee that could be collected from everyone entering the U.S. from Canada and Mexico.

But yesterday, the Senate judiciary committee voted to amend the Immigration Reform Bill to ban such a fee.

The fight, however, isn’t quite over.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week also recommended imposing fees for inspections of agricultural products, commercial aircraft, rail cars, ships and even passenger baggage.