Smaller border crossings facing closure or consolidation?
One of my more interesting weekend get-aways was a 2010 trip to Derby, Vermont, which famously has the US/Canada border line running smack through town. In conversation there, one gathers residents agree life was much better in the good old days, when border security did not force street closures and official check-ins, just to go see a neighbor. These small casualties of inconvenience are invisible to the US or Canada as a whole. But within affected border towns and communities, citizens are paying a real price for security changes.
With that in mind, I wanted to pass along an article from the CBC about possible changes to smaller border crossings. Citing a leaked document from “the bi-national Small Port Working Group” the article details possible changes for small border crossings from B.C. to New Brunswick:
The document discusses four options being considered by officials with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for each of the 52 land crossings. The options are sharing facilities, mirroring working hours, using a “remote-technology solution,” or closing the posts altogether.
Where leaked internal documents are concerned, who knows what the real state of negotiations or policies may be? However, if there is a way for affected communities to ask questions and have input, doing that ASAP may be a good idea.
In these tough economic times, why not get rid of all border patrol agents on both sides of the border and let people go back and forth as they feel like it?
Clearly, with all of this border crossing hype and law enforcement proliferation, the terrorists havewon. We are no longer free in the United States of America.
This border paranoia is the result of our misguided national priorities, which give rise to all sorts of people wanting to cross the border, to get around some stupid law. Drugs come across the border because we refuse to legalise marijuana growing and use. Over the counter medications come across because we can’t get our health care system to function for the people. Cigarettes are smuggled because we’ve decided to let the tobacco industry handle education. Hell, even the terrorists only come here because we’ve set ourselves up as the worlds cop, weapons provider. and loan shark.
Ignorance and belligerence keep us in a constant state of tension.
Too bad for the little border towns.
If we are bringing all of these troops home from Iraq, why not use them to not only keep border crossings open, but create new border crossing checkpoints?
Yes, the troops will need jobs, but better to build bridges than fences…
Yes the troops will need jobs— hello to 18% unemployment.