Heather Latter
A cross-border brainstorming session, staged by the Fort Frances Chamber of Commerce, the local Business Improvement Association, and the International Falls Area Chamber of Commerce last Thursday evening, was successful in addressing issues experienced on both sides.
“It was really great,” Fort Frances Chamber manager Annely Armstrong said of the fourth cross-border brainstorming session, which saw more than 30 people attend the first session held on the U.S. side.
“In all of the sessions thus far, just issues with the border and border crossing have come up time and time again,” she noted, adding there had been attempts in the past to get both the Canadian and U.S. port authorities in the same room that were unsuccessful.
“But we actually pulled it off,” Armstrong enthused. “It was really huge to have them both there.”
“I think it was a very good meeting,” echoed Faye Whitbeck, president of the International Falls Chamber.
“For myself, it felt so right to have our Fort Frances friends with us on our side of the border as all of those meetings have felt right and long overdue.
“I think it was productive in terms of getting some critical questions answered by our port authorities,” Whitbeck added.
“But what I really think was important was the essence of having both port authorities in the same room, with folks from our sister cities also in the same room.
“To me, that was symbolic of a change and so it’s just a beginning of the possibilities we can open if we continue to see each other as one,” she reasoned.
Both Armstrong and Whitbeck indicated a lot of detailed information was presented, but it also was very important to dispel some of the misconceptions surrounding border crossing.
“We were able to hear from the horse’s mouth what the truth is, especially when it comes to Americans coming to Canada and the DUI,” said Armstrong, noting those rules have changed recently so there were a lot of questions around that.
“I think the major issues . . . is the lack of clarity on just what ID is required by the U.S. Customs when people are coming into the country, whether they are a returning citizen or a visitor from Canada,” Whitbeck remarked.
“So we got to the bottom of what those requirements are,” she said.
“And then the other is U.S. citizens who are headed into Canada and must return based on denial due to a DUI,” Whitbeck continued.
“In all fairness, some of those requirements voiced by the Canadian Kim Beaudry were quite reasonable,” she conceded, citing there is a lot of rumour and misinformation about what gets you denied regarding a DUI.
“So I think that was good for the room to hear,” Whitbeck said.
Other issues that were addressed last Thursday involved businesses conducting affairs cross-border.
“There was always questions on is there a fee they have to pay, how do they report it, how do they conduct business?” Armstrong noted.
“Even from ladies who sell Tupperware. How do they sell Tupperware across?” she said. “Because there are so many people who are related to each other across the border and want to sell to them.”
Those on hand also heard about why people sometimes are required to go into U.S. Customs when crossing.
“They don’t profile people or pick on anyone in particular,” Armstrong explained. “It’s an off-site location that determines who gets pulled in.
“So if you travel more frequently, you’re going to get pulled in because just the rate of the number of times you’ve crossed.
“It’s just to fulfill a check list,” she added. “They are not trying to get you.”
And sometimes, like around the time of the bombing in Boston, the U.S. port authority was ordered to pull in all students.
“It wasn’t their decision to go out and do this, it was something that came from their government,” Armstrong stressed. “And that kind of thing happens on the Canadian side, too.
“They are just simply fulfilling their duties.”
Attendees at the session also discovered it’s not a difficult process for teachers to bring students across the border for educational purposes, and that there are no issues with people crossing to volunteer.
“So all of that stuff got cleared up,” Armstrong said, adding they received some really good hand-outs and websites to help clear up these issues.
Whitbeck said she hopes to pass on the misconceptions and the facts that were discovered during the session.
“Whenever either side is inviting visitors to come, which we all hope to grow that industry now because what has happen to both of our mills, we have to be sure we give visitors the right information,” she reasoned.
“Otherwise, we make people angry and they are not excited to come back.”
And Whitbeck said if people have questions about border issues, they should call either of the Chambers.
“We have a lot of answers and we certainly have good avenues to get the answers,” she remarked, noting you often get “official answers” when seeking information about the border.
“People are looking for down-to-earth, usable information,” she stressed.
Armstrong, meanwhile, indicated many people who attended last Thursday’s session stayed well after it was over talking and throwing out ideas.
“That’s the great thing about these sessions,” she enthused. “It’s just to get people talking and to make these partnerships.
“These people would never have been in the same room together.”
They also discussed the annual “Pulling for Peace” tug-of-war, which will take place July 2 this year, as well as the importance of it being declared “Peaceful Borders Day.”
“It continues to grow a bond, which promises to be helpful in terms of meeting the challenges that lay ahead of us,” Whitbeck reasoned.
