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OTTAWA — After a lengthy delay, Canada has finally passed its legislation to ratify a border preclearance agreement signed with the U.S. in 2015.

The passage of Bill C-23, which received royal assent on Tuesday night, paves the way for U.S. preclearance facilities in Toronto’s Billy Bishop airport and Quebec City’s airport, meaning they can send flights to any American airport (rather than only those with international customs facilities). Eight Canadian airports currently have U.S. preclearance.

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The American government passed its own enabling legislation last year. David MacNaughton, Canada’s ambassador to the U.S., had been urging MPs and senators to get C-23 moving through parliament, as the bill was introduced back in June 2016 and was advancing at a snail’s pace.

With C-23 passed into law, Canada now needs to enact regulations on the new preclearance regime before the agreement is fully ratified, and then the airports will have to sign cost recovery and operational agreements with the U.S. border agency. It will likely take at least a year for this to happen.