Border control

Business as usual at the Halfway House in Dundee

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

Louis Patenaude of the Halfway House in Dundee says he is not worried about his business, after U.S. authorities moved to limit Canadian access to the Haskell Free Library and Opera House in Stanstead, Quebec, which also straddles the Canada-U.S. border.

Just over 200 years ago, the Dundee spot was a trading post along the banks of the Salmon River. When the frontier separating Canada from the United States was established, the line ran right through the building, which has taken on many forms over the years as a hotel, a bar, and now a freight-shipping company.

Patenaude’s father, Maurice, purchased the building in the 1950s and eventually converted it to a shipping business that allowed Canadians to collect parcels from the United States without having to cross the international border.

The Halfway House is nestled between the Dundee and Fort Covington ports of entry. Patenaude took over the business with his partner, Marie Brown, after his father’s passing in 2022.

Patenaude says he has not noticed any change or additional attention from the Canada Border Services Agency or the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “What are they going to do, sit inside my house?” he scoffs, suggesting there are a half-dozen other buildings between the border stations in the same situation. “It’s been this way since the dawn of the border,” he laughs.

Clients are required to report the contents of their parcels to the Canada Border Services Agency at the Dundee border crossing, where applicable taxes and duties are applied. Patenaude says that despite the imposition of tariffs on certain goods being imported from the United States, he has not heard much complaining.

Business is steady, and Patenaude says it usually picks up come spring; so far, he is not seeing signs of a boycott on American goods. “I think the exchange on the dollar is probably our worst enemy now,” he admits, before explaining his clients rely on his services because it can be difficult to find certain products outside of the U.S. “I have quite a few farmers, and quite a few mechanics, too,” he says.

Patenaude, who lives on the U.S. side, admits he could see a bump in business if local Canadians begin to feel less comfortable crossing the border. “During COVID, we were exceptionally busy because people could not cross,” he says. “That could happen again,” he muses, noting he is registering new clients daily.

“It’s not a hidden secret anymore!” he exclaims.

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Federal deputies call on U.S. officials over reduced border hours

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

The Salaberry-Suroît MP and public safety critic, Claude DeBellefeuille, and Saint-Jean MP Christine Normandin are stepping up their pressure on Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister David McGuinty over reduced hours of operation at area ports of entry.

The hours at the Herdman (Chateaugay), Trout River (Trout River), Lacolle Route 221 (Overton), and Lacolle Route 223 (Rouses Point) border crossings between Canada and New York State were reduced by half as of January 6. Faced with this continued reduction in hours, which see the crossing points close overnight, the MPs have reached out to their American counterparts for support.

An official letter was sent to U.S. elected officials who share a border with the two MPs’ constituencies. DeBellefeuille and Normandin emphasized the need for continuous operational border control, especially in the current geopolitical context.

The aim of the joint initiative is to ensure the American authorities are aware of the risks associated with the security and fluidity of cross-border trade. “Our American counterparts are well aware of the consequences of a less secure border,” said DeBellefeuille in a joint statement issued by the deputies.

She highlighted the importance of working together to press McGuinty to reverse the Canadian Border Services Agency’s (CBSA) decision.

“Reducing opening hours not only weakens border security; it also harms our regional economies, which are heavily dependent on cross-border trade,” added Normandin.

When asked, a representative from DeBellefeuille’s office noted that despite an initial response from the CBSA to the MPs requests for a revision, the deputy has not received anything further from the public safety minister.

U.S. elected officials spoke out in November, when the joint decision by the CBSA and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) was first announced. New York State Senator Dan Stec blasted the decision, insisting “You can’t have a part-time border.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has also publicly stated her opposition to the reduction in hours, as has New York State Assemblyman Billy Jones.

DeBellefeuille and Normandin said they hope the letter will result in elected officials on both sides of the border speaking with one voice, with the end goal of prompting the federal governments to reconsider their decision.

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Bridges not Borders: ‘Asylum seekers are not criminals’

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

“The people slogging through the woods in the middle of winter trying to reach Canada are not criminals,” says Wendy Ayotte of Bridges not Borders, a Hemmingford-based organization that assists asylum seekers. “It is not illegal to cross an international border irregularly to seek protection.”

Speaking on behalf of the organization, Ayotte says she is quite disturbed by how people are being increasingly criminalized by the language being used by the RCMP and other local authorities, including those who collaborated with the RCMP to produce a flyer last fall that associates asylum seekers with cross-border crime and suspicious individuals and activities.

“We understand that the RCMP are in some cases saving people’s lives, and we appreciate the work that they do,” says Ayotte, but “Saving lives and criminalizing people does not have to go hand in hand.

Ayotte says there has been a significant uptick in the numbers of visitors to the Bridges not Borders website, which contains information for asylum seekers looking to come to Canada including details on the Safe Third Country Agreement (STCA), which restricts refugee claimants coming from the United States from claiming status in this country.

Bridges not Borders is also a member of the Canada-US Border Network which has created a virtual legal clinic for people seeking safety at the border, called the Canada-US Border Rights Clinic. Ayotte says the clinic has also seen around double the number of people seeking legal advice. Often, the people reaching out are those who do not qualify under SCTA exceptions.

“It’s distressing,” she says, pointing out that those who are intercepted by the RCMP are brought to the Canada Border Services Agency, where their refugee claims are processed. “The high likelihood is they will be returned to the United States, as very few people will qualify under STCA rules – if any of them do,” she explains. Most will be detained in the U.S. and then possibly deported back to a place where they may not be safe.

Article 6 of the agreement does allow Canada and the United States the discretion to “examine any refugee status claim made to that Party where it determines that it is in its public interest to do so,” which means those who do not meet SCTA exceptions are not required by law to be returned to the United States.

Despite this clause, Bridges not Borders argues that the STCA is morally wrong and incompatible with international law. Under the agreement, Canada is required to regularly ensure that the United States meets international human rights standards. Ayotte questions how this can be the case, given the current U.S. administration’s radical position on migrants and immigration.

“Our overall position remains the same – that the STCA must be, at the very least, suspended,” she says.

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RCMP says search and rescue operations are happening more frequently

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Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

A family of four seeking refugee status was found by RCMP officers in a wooded area in the municipality of Havelock in the early morning of March 7, after they became lost trying to cross the border. 

The family had been walking in the woods for hours with their two young children when they called for help. Officers found the family huddled against a tree, suffering from extreme hypothermia and unable to move. They were transported to a hospital and are now in stable condition.

The family requested refugee status when they were found, and their case has been transferred to the Canada Border Services Agency.

This incident marked the eighth weekend in a row that RCMP officers have launched a search and rescue operation to find individuals who have crossed the Canada-U.S. border irregularly only to become lost in densely wooded areas between Hemmingford and Dundee.

Sergeant François Paquet of the RCMP’s Valleyfield detachment says that while there has been a “big drop” in southbound traffic, the number of migrants attempting to cross into Canada from the United States is steady.

“It fluctuates from week to week, temperature to temperature,” says Paquet, who suggests they have not seen a spike in “northbound” movement since the U.S. administration changed hands in January. He explains that the RCMP is prepared and will adapt if things change, but for now officers are focused on continuing their work along the border.

Search and rescue operations

Paquet admits this winter’s harsh temperatures and heavy snowfall has complicated some aspects of the job. He recently led a team of around 20 officers on a lengthy search and rescue operation in Hinchinbrooke on February 23. The United States Border Patrol (USBP) reported at least two people had been spotted heading towards the Canadian border between Powerscourt Road, Herdman Road, and the First Concession.

Officers first attempted to locate the individuals by tracking cell phone signals. When this did not work, they used a drone with thermal imaging technology. Blowing snow and poor weather conditions kept this option from working as well. They called in the air service for assistance and brought in an ARGO, or all-terrain off-road vehicle, to search the deforested area along the border called “the slash.” After spotting tracks in the snow, they abandoned the vehicle and entered the forest on foot. The Blackhawk helicopter was also called to join the search.

“It was a race against the clock,” says Paquet. “We know they are not well equipped for winter, and the safety of our officers and the migrants is very important,” he explains. “We want to find them before anyone gets hurt or dies of hypothermia,” he adds.

Eventually, officers found five individuals sitting against a tree about 100 metres from the First Concession. “They were tired. They were frozen. Some of them could not feel their feet,” says Paquet, noting there was a 14-year-old among the group. All five were arrested before being taken to the Hôpital du Suroît in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield for treatment for severe frostbite.

The RCMP quickly discovered that the group included two Canadian citizens and a family of three with no status in Canada. One of the Canadians is suspected of being an escort hired to bring the family through the woods, while the other was attempting to return to Canada after having illegally entered the United States. Officers also arrested the driver of a vehicle from Montreal who was found waiting for the family.

Officers seized over $11,000 from the family, which they determined would have been paid to the smugglers. The family, once rescued, requested refugee status.

‘We have had to adapt’

Paquet says it is not unusual that those found in the woods are transported to hospital. “We have seen people who were barefoot in the snow, and they had been walking for hours. No coats, in T-shirts. We have seen children barefoot, kids with aluminium foil on their feet,” he says, noting that migrants are now crossing in areas that are much more difficult to access, which hampers rescue efforts.

“Two or three years ago, we had people going to the police. They would cross the road and wait,” says Paquet, referring to Roxham Road. “Now we are in a situation where they don’t want us to arrest them or even find them,” he explains, adding that smugglers promise safe and easy passage across the border, which is “completely false.”

Paquet admits the RCMP has had to adapt its patrol and operational strategies due to the presence of smuggling networks. “In Valleyfield over the past year we have had more than 20 human smuggling cases that we have judicialized,” he says, noting they have made numerous arrests and seized vehicles, and large sums of money.

“We are in the process of developing experience and an expertise,” he insists, while pointing out this has meant working more closely with the local population. “We have done a lot of awareness-raising with people who reside near or along the border… We have passed out leaflets and business cards, and we will be posting signs with the RCMP’s telephone number,” he explains.

The federal police force is not able to share how often people call with information, but Paquet insists officers follow up on every tip. “We try to use a multitude of technologies at our disposal,” he says, noting they regularly patrol in marked and unmarked vehicles, and are now able to rely on air services including the Blackhawk helicopter.

Paquet says they have not been told whether the Blackhawk will continue to be used after the initial contract expires on March 31, but they are planning for the long term. “We have members who have trained for it and who have started patrolling,” he says, while suggesting locals should expect to keep seeing and hearing the utility helicopter overhead.

It is OK to help

Paquet says that in the event residents encounter someone they think could be a migrant, it is best to contact the RCMP as soon as possible, especially if medical attention is required. “Canadians have a duty to assist a person in danger,” he says, noting that depending on their level of comfort, locals can invite people into their homes while they wait for the RCMP, or provide warm clothing, blankets, and food.

“I can guarantee that every call will be taken seriously,” says Paquet. At the same time, he says officers are now familiar with the people in the area. He says they are aware of temporary foreign workers, of hunters in the woods, and increased activity in maple groves with the start of sugar season. “We adapt. We get to know our community. I think that’s the most important thing.”

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Black Hawk helicopters are now patrolling the border

Local Journalism Initiative / / / , , , ,

Sarah Rennie – LJI reporter

Valley residents living along the U.S. border are getting used to hearing the heavy thumping of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s new Black Hawk helicopter as it flies overhead.

The RCMP deployed the military helicopter on January 17 to shore up its surveillance and response capabilities along the border while clamping down on illegal migration and drug smuggling.

“We want to send a message to the Americans that we are taking this very seriously,” said Sgt. Charles Poirier during a January 30 press conference in Saint-Antoine-Abbé, which took place just kilometres from what he described as an illegal migration hotspot.

“We are very serious about our measures, that we are present, and that we intervene every day,” he added, noting the helicopter allows officers to respond more rapidly and with greater flexibility to any situation along the border.

The Black Hawk is one of two choppers on loan until the end of March at a cost of $5.3 million, from the Ontario-based company Helicopter Transport Services. A second helicopter is currently stationed in Manitoba. 

Poirier said that officers in the field are already benefitting from the new measures. He explained that the Black Hawk allows the RCMP to respond more quickly and to transport teams from one location to another, given the sheer size of the territory. “Let’s say an intervention takes 30 minutes in a vehicle; we might be there in five minutes in a Black Hawk.”

The helicopter, which allows officers to rappel down or hoist individuals as needed, will also be used to assist ground patrols by identifying suspicious activity from the air.

Poirier said the new acquisition complements the RCMP’s existing fleet, which includes a smaller helicopter, several drones, patrol vehicles, all-terrain-vehicles, snowmobiles, and amphibious vehicles. “We also have an entire technological apparatus at the border, including cameras, sensors, and other detection mechanisms,” he noted.

‘We want to reassure people’

Along with communicating a message to the U.S. on border security, Poirier suggested the RCMP also wanted to inform locals about the presence of the helicopters. “They are imposing. They look like the military, and people who live along the border will see them on a regular basis. They also fly very low sometimes, and they make a lot of noise,” he acknowledged. “We want to reassure the people who live along the border to know that it is us and that there is nothing unusual going on.”

The Black Hawks flying overhead have been the topic of conversation between locals across the Valley, with many saying they were alarmed, or at best confused, by their presence.

“They went over my house three times, directly over the roof,” said a Hinchinbrooke resident. “It is loud and it’s invasive and it just seems like our peaceful little border has become something else just overnight,” she added, noting that the RCMP had already installed cameras at the end of her road. “I feel like I am being watched all the time,” she said.

“We understand that this can be an inconvenience,” Poirier said, noting that any issues relating to the helicopters and increased border patrols can be signaled to the RCMP, and efforts will be made to accommodate such concerns.

“One thing that needs to be clear is that we don’t randomly patrol the border. Every patrol we make is based on intelligence. It is focused,” said Poirier, noting that officers typically concentrate their efforts on a hot spot or problem area where they can work within the community.

“Local help is essential to our mandate,” he said. “We can’t be everywhere at once. We work very well with the public, and we recognize the inconvenience of having people crossing on their property,” he continued, noting that anything out of the ordinary, “whether it’s an individual, several individuals, a vehicle, even if it’s just a backpack on their property,” can be reported to the RCMP and an officer will be dispatched to investigate.

Situation is ‘under control’

According to Poirier, the helicopters will be used primarily to follow up on intelligence received, where officers can signal a location from the air to those on the ground so they can better concentrate their patrol. In the event an individual has crossed the border and has not been located within a certain amount of time, the helicopter may also be deployed for a “search-and-collect” operation.

A Hemmingford maple syrup producer says he regularly finds articles of clothing and tracks running through his sugar bush located along the border. He observed that since the helicopters began flying overhead, there has been very little evidence of people moving through the forest. He recalled feeling a bit nervous after the helicopter circled above him a few times while he was preparing his trees for the upcoming sugar season.

Poirier reiterated that the situation along the border is under control, noting both south- and north-bound movement across the line by migrants is relatively quiet at the moment. “The numbers are quite low,” he confirmed, while highlighting the RCMP’s focus on smuggling networks operating in the area.

Poirier also addressed American concerns over the trafficking of fentanyl across the border. “Less than one per cent of the fentanyl currently on U.S. streets comes from Canada. In the last 12 months, in Quebec alone, we haven’t seen any fentanyl destined for the American market,” he confirmed.

Poirier reiterated the importance of sending a strong message to the Americans that border security is being taken very seriously by the RCMP; but he noted it is also important to remember the facts.

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