Daily life will be impacted if pre-clearance at remote border crossings ends, residents say

Residents of remote communities along the Canada-U.S. border are asking Ottawa not to scrap a trusted traveller border entry program that pre-clears them, making it easier to travel into Ontario and Manitoba without reporting to a customs checkpoint.

"Go to school, grocery shopping, doctor's appointments, go see your accountant.... No matter what you're going for, you're traveling quite frequently," said Jason Goulet, owner of Angle Outpost Resort and Red Fox Ice Fishing in Northwest Angle, Minn.

"We have a family of 10. There's almost somebody travelling every day.... So it's a pretty big deal to us."

Canadian and American residents can currently get pre-clearance through the Canada Border Services Agency’s Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) program, which includes background and security checks.

If approved, they receive an annual permit that allows them to travel into Canada in five remote areas without calling or checking in with a Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officer. The agency says there are about 11,000 permit holders every year, and 90 per cent are American.

In Ontario, that includes Cockburn Island and Sault Ste. Marie's upper lock system on the border with Michigan; waterways from Pigeon River to Lake of the Woods; and the Canadian shore of Lake Superior.

It also includes Northwest Angle — the only part of the U.S., outside of Alaska, that is north of the 49th parallel. It's surrounded on three sides by Canada, with no road connecting it to the rest of Minnesota.

Residents and tourists can get there by boat or ice road when conditions allow, but the only way to drive there is through Manitoba.

Anyone without an RABC permit must either go through a border station or use a designated telephone reporting site.

In Northwest Angle, there are currently three — and they are all outside, so people have to fight off bugs in the summer and cold in the winter. Travellers have to give their passport number and vehicle information to a customs officer on the phone.

Starting on Sept. 14, the CBSA is ending the permit program, so that will be the procedure for everyone.

Ottawa says this is all part of a $1.3-billion border security upgrade, in part because of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump.

The CBSA said it "builds on processes already in place across Canada, where travellers are required to report to the CBSA from designated sites every time they enter Canada."

However, it's hard to find someone who believes mandating a phone call to a customs agent, instead of pre-clearance and security checks, will make the border more secure.