New B.C. border security concerns arise as U.S. cracks down on Quebec library

"This is a library that has existed for well over 100 years," Dr. Lori Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University told Global News.

A decision by the U.S. government to restrict Canadians’ access to a library in Quebec is raising questions about the border in B.C.

For decades, Canadian visitors to the town of Stanstead, Que. had been able to walk across the border into Derby Line, Vt., to enter the Haskell Free Library and Opera House without having to cross a checkpoint or show a passport. That custom is now ending, the town said in a news release.

This move has raised questions about potential new restrictions at the Peace Arch border crossing, where there have been a number of recent arrests related to human smuggling rings.

“This is a library that has existed for well over 100 years,” Dr. Lori Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University told Global News.

“Really not that different from the Peace Arch Park that exists between Canada and the U.S. and B.C. and Washington, where you have this shared space where people can come together from both sides. They’ve been doing it for 100 years, and now we’re seeing some of these broader tensions between Canada and the U.S. kind of play out on the ground in these places.”

Peace Arch Park is the unfenced park that straddles the border.

In January, U.S. officials started cracking down on illegal vehicle crossings near the Blaine port of entry.

“We’ve been seeing similar moves in Peace Park actually for over a year now,” Trautman said.