Published January 14, 2025

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

Reduced service hours at the Herdman, Trout River, and Lacolle Route 223 ports of entry went into effect on January 6.

The hours of service at the Herdman crossing, which connects the municipality of Hinchinbrooke to Chateaugay, New York, as well as the Trout River crossing that links Elgin with Constable, New York, have now been reduced by half: from 24 hours to 12, between 6 a.m. and 6 p.m.

The hours at the Lacolle Route 223 border crossing at Rouses Point in New York have also been reduced from 24 hours to 12: 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The joint decision to scale back the operating hours was announced in November by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), as part of a collaborative effort to coordinate the service hours at connecting ports of entry.

Despite an outcry from residents and local politicians on both sides of the border, as well as a concerted effort by Salaberry-Suroît MP Claude DeBellefeuille, the CBSA is intent on permanently maintaining the new hours.

In December, DeBellefeuille addressed a formal letter to Dominic Leblanc, then the minister of Public Safety, Democratic Institutions and Government Affairs, in which she asked for the CBSA’s decision to be reassessed while suggesting that a closing time of 10 p.m. would be more appropriate.

A formal response was received on January 2 from Andrew Lawrence, the director general of the CBSA’s Travellers’ Operational Guidance and Support Branch, on behalf of David McGuinty, the current minister of Public Safety.

Lawrence states that as a result of these changes, “Canada and the U.S. are able to resolve problems related to incompatible hours of operation at ports of entry.” These issues can include security risks posed by open barriers at ports of entry, coordination difficulties between the CBSA and CBP in the event of incidents, and delays in the removal of inadmissible travellers and goods to the other country.

Lawrence also refers to a study of operational pressures, peak periods, and related service requirements, which indicated that most of the affected entry points cleared – on average – no more than two cars or commercial vehicles per hour during the period in which they are now closed.

DeBellefeuille confirms that the Bloc Québécois requested a breakdown, by hour, of the number of crossings at both the Herdman and Trout River ports of entry from the CBSA; it showed numbers that were above the two vehicle-per-hour average.

The deputy says that since November, her team has received over 50 testimonials from local residents detailing how this decision will impact their daily lives. She has spoken out against the CBSA decision in the House of Commons and through the media, and shares that at least two municipalities, Elgin and the town of Huntingdon, have adopted resolutions similarly denouncing the reduction in operating hours.

DeBellefeuille says that despite her interventions, as well as the testimonials from locals and accurate traffic data, the CBSA has maintained its decision.

“Unfortunately, the response we received leaves no room for questioning this decision,” says DeBellefeuille. “Clearly, despite our best efforts, we have not succeeded in convincing the competent authorities.”

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