Beauharnois-Salaberry-Soulages-Huntingdon MP Claude DeBellefeuille says there is still work to be done to reverse a Canada Border Services Agency decision that reduced the hours of operation at the Herdman, Trout River, and Lacolle Route 223 ports of entry.
DeBellefeuille confirms and Saint-Jean MP Christine Normandin will resubmit their official requests to the newly appointed minister of Public Safety, Gary Anandasangaree. They continue to take issue with the decision to cut the hours at crossing points based on traffic statistics. “It is a matter of security, or monitoring the borders,” insists DeBellefeuille, noting they are hopeful that the new minister will have a different vision that that of the CBSA.
DeBellefeuille says she is also not ruling out working more closely with U.S. elected officials, noting the revised hours were a joint decision with U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She and Normandin reached out to their American counterparts just before the election was called, and since then have received some positive responses.
“They have invited us to meet with them to see how we can build some momentum on both sides [of the border],” DeBellefeuille confirms. “They have the same concerns as us,” she explains, noting the phenomenon of migrant crossings, organized trafficking, and border security.
“The answers we keep getting are based on statistics on vehicle crossings. That doesn’t hold water for us, given the current context,” DeBellefeuille says.