Posts Tagged ‘US/Canada border issues’

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Morning Read: Easier train travel between Montreal and North Country?

May 14th, 2012 by Brian Mann

Amtrak train 69, The Adirondack. Photo: Adam E. Moreira

It may soon be just a little bit easier to take the Amtrak train north to Montreal, according to Senator Charles Schumer’s office.  This from the Associated Press.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security and Canadian officials have tentatively agreed to end the two-hour inspection and screening delays at St. Lambert in Quebec.

The deal still needs final U.S. and Canadian approval. But new screening facilities in Montreal are being built for Customs and Border Patrol agents to complete prescreenings and end the need to stop at St. Lambert.

Schumer says Amtrak has agreed to no longer making the extra stop once the new facilities are approved and operating.

The North Country Chamber of Commerce says the move is a major economic step toward creating what it calls border fluidity.

Making the trip a bit quicker might make it…feasible.  Currently, a train ride from Plattsburgh to Montreal takes about four hours and gets you into the city at 7pm.  That trip includes a nearly two-hour stop at the border.

By car, the drive takes about an hour and fifteen minutes.

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More on the Great Recession

November 29th, 2011 by Martha Foley

Heads-up on two pieces coming tomorrow during the 8 O’clock Hour.

Brian Mann and I continue our conversation about how Canada’s border communities have fared — better — than their counterparts here south of the line. Brian’s been on the road this week, from Kingston to Toronto, and eventually down to Detroit, reporting for us and for WBEZ in Chicago.

Tomorrow, it’s the strength of public sector employment in Canada.

Governments large and small in New York have cut thousands of jobs, including teachers, conservation officers, corrections workers and health providers. Brian’s found that stable government employment north of the border has helped prevent the kind of high jobless numbers we’ve seen in the North Country and New York as a whole.

And in Albany, Karen DeWitt has the labor-backed Fiscal Policy Institute’s report on how New York has fared during the economic downturn. Here’s the opening line of the executive summary:

As the unemployment crisis continues more than two years following the official end of the Great Recession of 2008-2009, New York families have smaller incomes and face fewer opportunities.

The report is filled with grim numbers. Further down:

An indication of greater hardship among New Yorkers is that 1.2 million more people are receiving food stamps than before the recession. Growth in food stamp recipiency has been similar across the state, 63 percent in New York City and 68 percent outside the city.

Since the recession began, the number of New Yorkers without health insurance has risen by 550,000 to 2.9 million. The percent without health insurance coverage—public or private—has increased much faster in New York than in the nation as a whole. The steep falloff of 500,000 in those covered by private employer-provided health insurance largely accounts for this.

Karen’s sorting through the report and how it relates to public policy in the state.

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More on the U.S.-Canada fishing boundary dispute

July 25th, 2011 by Lucy Martin

It seems like this summer’s fishing boundary dispute failed to garner widespread attention on the Canadian side of the border for quite some time. (Outside of fishing circles, anyway.)

But today’s Ottawa Citizen has prominent coverage of the flap. Read the full article by Zev Singer here.

The article substantiates complaints the situation is too muddled:

For its part, the CBSA has consistently said since the incident that the Andersen case was unremarkable and in line with the enforcement executed routinely by its officers.

“If it so happens that you’re caught breaking the law and one of our officers catches you then you need to face the consequences,” Luc Nadon, a CBSA spokesman told the Citizen. He said there has been no change in the way enforcement is done by his agency.

“That’s a crock,” said Runciman, who has a home on the St. Lawrence River. [Note: that would be Canadian Conservative Sen. Bob Runciman]

“I’ve said ‘Give us a list of individuals who’ve been dealt with in a similar manner for fishing in Canadian waters — with an Ontario fishing licence, not anchored — and had to pay $1,000 to get their boat back.’ …. My guess is it simply hasn’t happened.”

The Citizen put Runciman’s question to the CBSA.

The initial response from the agency was that from 2008-2010 there were 117 cases of recreational fishing vessels and other pleasure boats seized for “failure to report inwards.” However, when the Citizen asked for further clarification on how many of those 117 cases involved boats that were, like Andersen’s, unanchored, the CBSA could substantiate only that there was “at least one.”

“This is not common practice, this has not been common practice,” said Runciman, who called the treatment of Andersen “outrageous” and has called for the CBSA to return the $1,000 and apologize. “You can see that by the reaction of the Americans, and by a lot of Canadians, that this is something new, out of the blue.”

If I recall earlier reporting correctly, the $1,000 fine paid by Roy M. Andersen was returned, all but $1. (To defend the point that the fine was legal and the rules were correctly applied.)

But clearly, the issue is far from settled. Will louder media coverage in Canada contribute to further clarification and resolution? Or just add more shouting to the fray?

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