Recently, one of our trusted carrier partners out of New Jersey started covering the Canadian province of British Columbia. They did so in order to expand their business and lane availabilities. Below is their testimony and experience on working with UWT to get their Canadian authority in order to operate within BC.

“Since we are new to the subject, we had to start from scratch, and did so by browsing on the internet and calling various agencies in order to gather the necessary information. One of the first things we discovered was there are requirements for both the Canadian and US Border Patrol services. So, the first step was to set up accounts with each of these entities, keeping in mind all of the regulatory requirements. There are of course, other factors that you need to keep in mind, including particular driver’s willingness to cross the border, training, obtaining necessary personal documents, etc. At bit of time, patience, understanding, and guidance from UWT aided in it all being a very positive experience. Weighing the increased output you receive by obtaining Canadian Authority vs. effort and investment, it was definitely a great idea for us to get involved in this program.

Here is a little summarized guide to the steps to follow to cross the Canadian Border as a US Company:

Prior to crossing:

1. Add the regions or states you will be crossing to your registration with the DMV of the state your truck belongs to.

2. Apportion your legal weight.

3. Add the specific Canadian province/territory that you will be entering to your IFTA permits.

4. Acquire liability and cargo insurance.

5. Be sure your drivers have a valid passport or Green Card to cross the border, and that they have no negative record in their Commercial Drivers License.

6. Set up your company with the Canadian Border Services Agency and apply for a carrier code. You will find all steps and information at www.cbsa.gc.ca, under the commercial sector, and then commercial carriers section. All we did was follow the step-by-step instructions on the website:

• Send your application to transact non-bonded highway carrier operations at point of arrival in Canada.
• You will receive your carrier code which will identify your company.
• Set up your account with the eManifest portal.
• Order your printed bar codes, to identify your loads and company with the PARS (Pre-arrival Review System). Bar code stickers can be printed at any of the companies suggested by the web site. We did them with PaperChase Graphics.

7. Once all this process is done, all you should need to do is find a load and start traveling to Canada!

Upon getting a load into Canada:

1. Once you have your load, put the PARS sticker on the load BOL’s and paperwork and send it to your broker.

2. At the moment we are using TRANSFLO to do that. The TRANSFLO Mobile iPhone application that lets you scan barcodes and info. This step assures you clearance before the truck enters Canadian territory. (*note – UWT offers this program for free for carriers – learn about the program here).

3. You can always check on pre-arrival status on the internet or with BorderPro, another smart phone application.

At the point of entry:

Crossing the border is simple. We entered Canada through the Pacific Entrance, coming from Washington on I-5. At the point of entry you should keep in mind the following:

1. Logbooks: There’s a slight difference on the logbook requirements when entering Canada.

• All logbook pages must say C1 which stands for Cycle 1. This data states the permitted driving hours per cycle at Canadian territory.
• Miles at the start of working day
• Miles at the end of working day
• Miles driven per single driver and per team
• Physical address of company – needs to be complete

2. 1^st Border Control: Driver immigration interview.

• Driver should stop at the stop sign, turn off reefer. Wait for green light, move ahead and stop in front of officer booth. Turn off truck completely.
• Show driver documentation, answer simple questions for immigration purposes.

3. 2^nd Border Control: Pertaining to the load itself.

• It is the agent’s discretion to pull you over and check the load or not.

4. 3^rd stop, Weight Station: Documentation for the truck itself, and Carrier Company.

• You must provide insurance information and registration.
• Keep in mind British Columbia requires a weight permit to travel through its territory. This permit must be issued before entering the region.
• Check http://www.th.gov.bc.ca/permits.htm. You must set up an account with them in order to get a client number and be able to buy permits online or over the phone. Once you are set up it is just like buying a USA state permit.

At the moment, we are doing our second trip to Canada. All is running smoothly and we are really happy to have taken the decision of broadening our routes. “

So there you have it, a guide to getting your Canadian Authority!!!! A big thanks to one of our New Jersey Carriers for sharing the process and experience!