FORT FRANCES—Windsor West MP Brian Masse spoke about border and tourism issues with a crowd of people, including a number of local tourism operators, during a public forum hosted by the federal NDP at La Place Rendez-Vous here last Thursday evening.
Masse is the NDP’s critic for industry and border, and a former Windsor city councillor. He heard comments from tourism operators about what has been damaging their business in recent years.
One operator identified “how people are being treated at the border, the minor criminalities, the turnbacks,” as a major deterrent to business growth here.
“There’s millions of dollars lost in this region,” he charged.
“People aren’t bothering to come here because it’s too difficult,” said another. “Cottagers who’ve been coming for 30 years are being turned away for a 35-year-old criminality.”
“We’ve had people in the last week turned back with 19-year-old infractions,” noted Donna Hanson, co-owner of King Island Lodge in Nestor Falls.
About five years ago, there were consistent rules regarding what infractions were serious enough and recent enough to warrant a denied entry into Canada, she said.
In more recent years, the enforcement of these rules has been inconsistent, Hanson added, and so some American tourists are taking a risk when they decide to come to Canada.
“We are filling up northern Minnesota resorts” with all the American tourists who are denied entry at the Canadian border, Hanson said.
“I lose $15,000-$20,000 a year just at my place alone,” said another operator.
“I’ve heard of a lot of tourism problems all over the place, but I’ve never, ever heard of this before,” Masse said. “I’m rather shocked.”
His first order of business would be to find out what the regulations are regarding people with a criminal record attempting to enter Canada, and to determine how many people are turned back.
“The first thing to do is get a full, clear understanding of the rules and how the rules are being exercised,” he said.
“I’m going to be submitting for parliamentary research on how many people are turned away. We need some numbers on that,” Masse added.
This trend is particularly damaging to tourism operators in this district, who report 80-90 percent of their customers are returning ones.
“That’s almost unheard of,” Masse remarked.
The Windsor MP said he noticed the border facilities here are not adequate to handle the amount of traffic that crosses every day.
He also was shocked to see there was no NEXUS program here, which is designed to simplify border crossings for low-risk travellers.
Once approved by both Canada and the U.S. as low-risk, NEXUS members are pre-approved to cross the border and enjoy a quicker entry process.
“Why this border doesn’t have a NEXUS lane is ridiculous,” Masse said. “It moves things a lot quicker.”
Masse noted the Ambassador Bridge crossing at the Windsor-Detroit border, and the one here between Fort Frances and International Falls, are the only two privately-owned border crossings in Canada.
“As things stand right now, we do not have any rights on private property where these privately-owned and operated border crossings are located,” Masse said in the House of Commons back on Jan. 29 while discussing the importance of Bill C-3.
Masse was surprised to learn at Thursday’s forum here that most people on hand had never heard of the bill, which finally was passed Feb. 1.
According to the Parliamentary summary, the act “establishes an approval mechanism for the construction, alteration, and acquisition of international bridges and tunnels, and provides for the regulation of their operation, maintenance, and security.”
For example, the bill sets rules for border crossing owners should they wish to make changes.
“If they want to increase toll rates, they need to consult with people,” Masse explained. “For the first time, there’s actually rules.”
With the bridge here up for sale, people in Windsor are watching closely to see how things unfold here, he added.
Masse is a proponent of publicly-owned border crossings, noting it is common in border communities for people to have relatives on both sides.
“These are the things that make our countries stronger. Why we would have this middle man making a profit in between is beyond me,” he said.
Masse also encouraged people to consider establishing a border authority—essentially a board made up of members of both sides of the border who would monitor how the border functions and bring any issues forward to the owner.
“They deal with public policy and projecting what will happen in the future,” he explained.
“A border authority is about having the people on the ground to do what’s necessary.”
For example, Canadian officers at the NEXUS lane at one Canadian crossing were performing trunk searches and slowing down the line, thereby defeating the purpose of the NEXUS lane, Masse said.
The matter was brought to the attention of the border authority, which then brought it to the attention of the authorities at the border, and the issue was resolved.
The border communities of Sault Ste. Marie, Sarnia, and Niagara Falls all have border authorities, Masse noted.
“A border authority is a vehicle to putting people first,” he said.
Masse said a bill for a border authority in Windsor currently is being drafted. “It’s up to people in the community to decide,” he concluded.
Fort Frances Times
Local News from Across the Rainy River District
