Canadian Border Officials Fuel Fishing Flap On St. Lawrence

[fuillihc]

This issue should be settled because it affects all of us who fish in the Great Lakes region.

From the Ottawa Citizen:

Canadian border officials fuel fishing flap on St. Lawrence

BY ZEV SINGER, THE OTTAWA CITIZEN

It’s not much of an exaggeration to say the boarding of American fisherman Roy Andersen’s boat by Canadian border agents has become an international incident. Not with all the other American fishermen now avoiding Canadian waters. And not with the involvement of high-level politicians and diplomats on both sides of the border.

It was on May 30 that 22-year-old Roy M. Andersen, of Baldwinsville, New York, was fishing with a friend in the Ganonoque Narrows. According to an account he gave the Watertown Daily Times, he was fishing less than 400 metres inside of Canadian waters when Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers approached. They asked whether he had phoned in to say he was crossing over into Canadian waters. He hadn’t.

At that point, Andersen was told he’d have to pay $1,000 on the spot to keep his boat. If not, he and his friend would have to lie handcuffed in the bottom of the boat while it was towed to shore. He paid the fine with his credit card.

At the time, Andersen had a valid Ontario fishing licence and one other thing: an understanding that, as long as he didn’t drop anchor on the Canadian side of the line, border officers wouldn’t enforce the technical requirement to “phone inwards” and announce his presence.

That’s been the understanding, on both sides of the border, according to Canadian Conservative Sen. Bob Runciman, “for generations.”

It didn’t take long before the Andersen story got out among American fishermen and sharply affected their plans.

Four weeks ago, for example, the New York B.A.S.S. Chapter Federation was planning a bass fishing tournament out of Massena, New York. Mike Cusano, the federation’s president, said that in the past, organizers insisted that all participants buy an Ontario fishing licence, which runs about $100, so anglers can search for big fish on both sides of the border. This year, the tournament was held strictly on the American side. As a result, interest was down, with 144 participants, where 200 is typical.

“We made the Canadian side off-limits,” Cusano said. “We just felt it was better and safer to keep everybody fishing on the U.S. side.”

From the boaters and small business owners near the water, the issue moved up to places like the city council of Ogdensburg, New York. A resolution by the council, passed June 27, calls for “a solution to the new interpretation of Canadian customs law on the St. Lawrence River.” The resolution says American boaters are being impacted in ways that are “unreasonable.”

The CBSA stance is particularly unwelcome in Odgensburg, whose civic leaders are trying to promote St. Lawrence County as the “Fishing Capital of the World.”

On the Canadian side, the Brockville and District Chamber of Commerce wrote Vic Toews, the federal public safety minister, who is responsible for the CBSA, and Maxime Bernier, the minister responsible for tourism. In the letter, of July 6, the chamber says they are “deeply concerned” by the Andersen case.

“Fishing is a huge tourism industry within our region and we depend on our U.S. visitors.”

From that level, the concern moved its way up to politicians like Leeds-Grenville MP Gord Brown and New York State Sen. Pattie Ritchie, who, in turn, raised the issue with Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

“The residents of the St. Lawrence Valley and Lake Ontario on both sides of the international border have had a special relationship that dates back to the founding of our two great nations,” Ritchie wrote in a statement to the Citizen. “People have family and friends on both sides of the border.

“That’s why I was so surprised and puzzled when this happened, especially just a week before our tourist season begins.

“A lot of my constituents are telling me that they are just avoiding any travel on the Canadian side of the river. I am hoping that my friends in Canada will remember that we are their biggest trading partners and that friends don’t handcuff friends, especially if they want us to come by for a visit.”

The file also hit the desk of U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, who not only represents the area, but who also chairs the United States Senate subcommittee on immigration, refugees and border security.

Schumer has written the heads of the CBSA and its American counterpart, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CPB), and copied Gary Doer, the Canadian ambassador in Washington.

“I very much agree with and support your mission of protecting our shared border,” Schumer wrote on July 8. “But that mission must also protect our border in a manner that is mindful of promoting vital trade, tourism and commerce between our nations.”

For its part, the CBSA has consistently said since the incident that the Andersen case was unremarkable and in line with the enforcement executed routinely by its officers.

“If it so happens that you’re caught breaking the law and one of our officers catches you then you need to face the consequences,” Luc Nadon, a CBSA spokesman told the Citizen. He said there has been no change in the way enforcement is done by his agency.

“That’s a crock,” said Runciman, who has a home on the St. Lawrence River.

“I’ve said ‘Give us a list of individuals who’ve been dealt with in a similar manner for fishing in Canadian waters — with an Ontario fishing licence, not anchored — and had to pay $1,000 to get their boat back.’ .... My guess is it simply hasn’t happened.”

The Citizen put Runciman’s question to the CBSA.

The initial response from the agency was that from 2008-2010 there were 117 cases of recreational fishing vessels and other pleasure boats seized for “failure to report inwards.” However, when the Citizen asked for further clarification on how many of those 117 cases involved boats that were, like Andersen’s, unanchored, the CBSA could substantiate only that there was “at least one.”

“This is not common practice, this has not been common practice,” said Runciman, who called the treatment of Andersen “outrageous” and has called for the CBSA to return the $1,000 and apologize. “You can see that by the reaction of the Americans, and by a lot of Canadians, that this is something new, out of the blue.”

If there was something unusual about the Andersen case that prompted officers to enforce the law, the CBSA certainly has not said so. On the contrary, the CBSA has only said that the Anersen case is normal and should not be surprising.

Runciman said if the CBSA was going to change the way it enforced the law, it should have been straightforward in doing so.

“I think there should have been a cross-border conversation,” he said. “There should have been some kind of understanding and agreement. There should have been some public notice and time for public input.”

Ultimately, the requirement for unanchored boats to phone inward, and the confusion surrounding the enforcement, which is not consistent from region to region, could damage an industry that has been steady through the challenges of the economic downturn and the more expensive Canadian dollar, Runciman said.

“Fishing tourism has been maintained pretty constant throughout that,” he said. “If that starts to suffer as a result of that, and certainly there are threats that that may occur, a lot of people are going to pay a price.”

On July 8, in response to the tempest on the St. Lawrence, the CBSA announced the introduction of a new protocol by which American boaters could phone inward using cellphones rather than being required to come to shore and use landlines installed at ports along the border. While that is seen universally as an improvement over the land lines, politicians on both sides still see it as unnecessary. Mike Cusano, of the New York bass fishermen’s federation, said the bottleneck of anglers trying to get through on their cellphones would still make the process impractical at a tournament.

For their part, the U.S. border agency, the CPB, does not have a requirement that unanchored boaters “phone inwards.” As long as they don’t drop anchor or go ashore, they are not in violation, Tom Rusert, a spokesman in the CPB’s Buffalo field office told the Citizen.

Runciman said if the CBSA keeps up its new practice, that could change.

“Now, we may get into a tit-for-tat kind of exercise here,” he said.

The issue also comes as Canada and the U.S. are negotiating an historic “perimeter security” agreement, which could be released as soon as the end of this summer.

Yet, a reversal on the CBSA’s stance could be on the horizon.

In response to the Citizen’s inquiries, Mike Patton, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews, said the minister has now asked for a review of the issue.

“Ultimately, Canada sets its own border policies, just as the U.S sets its own policies,” Patton said. He added, however, that “Minister Toews has asked officials to review the necessity of calling CBSA where a vessel has not anchored. The minister’s priority remains the free-flow of legitimate goods and people across our borders.”

[larry b]

sounds like a bunch of power trippers

[Dan Andrews]

I never knew about it until a week ago when Kevin posted it. If you ask me the officers should be charged for extortion because they gave him an ultimatum. Money or handcuffs

[bigugli]

I never knew about it until a week ago when Kevin posted it. If you ask me the officers should be charged for extortion because they gave him an ultimatum. Money or handcuffs

Why?

In many states, if you are from out of state and get caught speeding, your options are simple. Pay now, or straight to the nearest JP to have your case heard. At that juncture, the result is pay, or play at the local "Rec" center with Bubba and the boys. It's the same ultimatum.

[minnow killer]

I never knew about it until a week ago when Kevin posted it. If you ask me the officers should be charged for extortion because they gave him an ultimatum. Money or handcuffs

they do the same thing in Ohio, speeding ticket for going 68 in a 65, $325 cash or credit card, on the spot, or spend the night in jail and see the judge in the morning.

[smerchly]

This case is a little different than driving on a highway where the driver broke the posted speed limit . At least the JP sets the fine ,not the cops . The fishermen who fish both sides must have a common "unwritten law" when having tournaments that allows them to fish both sides with the valid fishing licenses . If we are going to start asking for phone in permission for each boater , the yanks will tell our business people "see ya" . This can't be good for either us or them. I hope they get compensated .....maybe the Canadian bass clubs will have a fund raising tournament to apologize for the CBSA 's actions.

MK ....I have wondered why we here in Ontario have a posted sign on a hwy that says "100Km MAX" and the vehicles do 30% over that "limit" . Why don't they post "130 KM MAX" and fine you at 135 km ? Also, when we go that fast , gas mileage drops off quickly . So much for high gas prices !

[Dan Andrews]

The article said either they pay $1000 on the spot or lay in the bottom of the boat handcuffed. Whether that option is given by Canadian or American Authorities it's still extortion IMO. Just issue the fine and if they don't pay by a certain date or register an defence then arrest them. By insisting launching a defence is grounds for an arrest yet leaving money as a way out is just wrong no matter which side of the border your on.

[groovy]

The americans have been hassling Canadians for yrs at border crossings (land and water..remember a few months back the guys in the lower river that almost drowned and had to swim to the american side, they were,nt taken to a hospital, they were thrown in jail for entering the country illegally. I would hazard to guess far more Canadians are hassled by American authorities than the other way around...One American gets a little bit of a hassle on this side and everyone jumps on the band wagon and says "my god what is wrong with those socialist people to the north how dare they treat us God gifted Americans like that?"

[kevin]

The article said either they pay $1000 on the spot or lay in the bottom of the boat handcuffed. Whether that option is given by Canadian or American Authorities it's still extortion IMO. Just issue the fine and if they don't pay by a certain date or register an defence then arrest them. By insisting launching a defence is grounds for an arrest yet leaving money as a way out is just wrong no matter which side of the border your on.

There are always two sides to every story, unfortunately the media only hears the one side which is normally the person involved. As for the $1000, it's not a fine. It's a seizure payment. At that time, the conveyance is seized due to failing to report inwards. To get the boat back, the $1000 has to be paid. If he didn't want to pay, that's OK, he just doesn't get his boat back.

[Dan Andrews]

There are always two sides to every story, unfortunately the media only hears the one side which is normally the person involved. As for the $1000, it's not a fine. It's a seizure payment. At that time, the conveyance is seized due to failing to report inwards. To get the boat back, the $1000 has to be paid. If he didn't want to pay, that's OK, he just doesn't get his boat back.

If its a seizure payment and the US authorities are doing him a favour by letting him pay it on the spot instead of going to a compound after it gets processed, then why the handcuffs if they don't pay on the spot. They pay the seizure payment on the spot and they go free? Just sayin

[Jim K]

The seneca nation of indians has a similar policy if you are caught fishing without a licence. They will take your, boat, truck, everything they can if they catch you. It really is a shame that it's all come to this. Remember when you could cross the border like it was nothing? They would ask citizenship, and where you were going. Okay, have fun.

[kevin]

If its a seizure payment and the US authorities are doing him a favour by letting him pay it on the spot instead of going to a compound after it gets processed, then why the handcuffs if they don't pay on the spot. They pay the seizure payment on the spot and they go free? Just sayin

Like I said, there are always two sides to a story. The story of being handcuffed in a bottom of the boat is "his" side. I highly doubt that was said.

[Basshound]

With the increase of US police boats in the Great Lakes since 911, Canadian boaters in US waters have constantly been pulled over for ID, fishing licences and safety equipment. I know of a person who didn't have the right floatation throw device and was fined, primarily to help pay for all these boats and manpower. It wasn't like you could mail the money in, you had to go into downtown Buffalo court and see a judge. Time had to be taken off work, spend the day with the low lifes in court and ward off the lawyers who want to defend you. What a joke. I don't agree with how that 22 yr old was treated but this kind of crap can go both ways... and it does. Canada's been accused as being soft in the way it defends and guards its borders, but when they do its deemed too severe. Personally I feel that if you have a fishing licence and you're not anchored you should be fine. I hope they get this straightened out soon and get back to the way it traditionally was without all the hassles, on either side of the border.