People in the community of Stewart are raising their concerns over the overnight closure of the border between their town and Alaska.
Stewart, a community of only about 400 people, shares the border with the Alaskan town of Hyder, but beginning this month, the border crossing between the two communities will be closed from midnight to 8 a.m. seven days a week.
That has residents and local businesses concerned.
City councillor Sylvia Goulet says their primary worry is public safety with the Canada Border Services Agency not having any presence at the border for eight hours every night.
“In times where the security of Canadians has been amplified as a top priority for this government, it is incomprehensible to consider security measures are being decreased at one of the front lines into Canada,” says Goulet.
But there are also concerns around timely access to health services for Hyder residents, who rely on Stewart hospital for emergency services.
Goulet says there are also effects on economy and tourism to be considered.
Goulet says Stewart is located in a tsunami hazard zone and in an event of an earthquake during the hours that the border is closed, she is concerned people may be prevented from escaping to higher ground.
“The last time we had a tsunami evacuation, it was at 1:30 in the morning. Those people would not be able to get out,” she says.
But what frustrates the community the most, according to Goulet, is the lack of any public consultation ahead of the overnight closure.
CBSA told Global News they are working with the community “to balance business needs with operational requirements.”
Careful consideration was given to the CBSA’s ability to provide continued 24/7 service at the Stewart Port of Entry. Through an in-depth review of port volumes and passage statistics, it was determined that the operation was under-utilized outside of primary operating hours. As such, the new hours of service are from 8:00am to 12:00am (midnight) Pacific Standard Time, 7 days a week.
CBSA says they recognize that the change in hours will affect some, but there are procedures in place to ensure access for emergency services and industrial stakeholders in the event of a situation such as a medical emergency, natural disaster, or if there is risk to critical infrastructure.
Procedures have been developed in consultation with, and have been agreed to, by all local emergency service providers. Emergency services have been provided with 24 hour access and are able to cross between Stewart, BC and Hyder, AK unimpeded for emergency purposes. In addition, CBSA has provided 24 hour telephone clearance procedures which can be accessed by local residents, in case of emergency, that will afford access to medical services at all times.
But Goulet says they want to get CBSA to reconsider the current mandate to close the border. Instead, they want the agency to maintain a presence at the border 24/7, at least in summer time.
“It would be nice if we could get some of our ministers involved,” says Goulet. “Everybody has written letters, but I’ve never heard back from anyone. We are such a small town and we feel the closure. We’d like them to recognize us a bit more.”
With files from Justin McElroy
PHOTO GALLERY: The community held a protest against the border closure on Wednesday and this morning.
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