The American government is proposing to impose a new fee at the border, one that you could be forced to pay each and every time you cross the Canada-U.S. border.
Border lineups of 40 minutes or more don’t seem to be a deterrent for many people heading south. But the idea to charge all vehicles and pedestrians a fee to enter the United States doesn’t seem to say welcome at all.
The Department of Homeland Security’s 2014 budget includes a plan to study the feasibility of charging a crossing fee at both the Canada and Mexico borders.
“We’re just going to shop for a weekend, we’re still buying stuff and we’re supporting them so why should we have to pay to come here,” said Kalene Mangin, a St.Claude resident headed to North Dakota on Monday.
The Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce says the fee would be bad policy but it could keep some shoppers in Canada.
“I think it’s going to have a clear impact on those people close to the border that may go on a more regular occurrence,” said Chuck Davidson, the Chamber’s vice president.
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That’s bad news for businesses in Grand Forks who are used to a huge crush of Canadian shoppers at times like Black Friday and all year round.
“That would be something we in Grand Forks would certainly very much oppose,” said Barry Wilfahrt , president of the Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce. “The Canadian traffic in Grand Forks is very significant for our motels, restaurants and retailers.
“We will be in touch with our congressional delegation urging them to oppose it,” Wilfahrt said.
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One of the harshest critics of the fee is Democrat Congressman Brian Higgins. He’s vowed to put the brakes on the idea, saying it sends a bad message.
“Fact of the matter is, the United States and Canada have been trading partners and friends for more than a hundred years. We should be looking to remove obstacles between the U.S. and Canada and not impose new ones.”
Higgins also questioned the motivation for the fee and where the revenue would be spent.
“And I have a concern based on nothing more than my intuition that this may be an attempt to extract a fee from northern border users to subsidize the labour and security intensive work that is needed on the southern border.”
If implemented, the land-crossing fee would apply to about 350 million travellers to the U.S. each year.
The Department of Homeland Security plans to study the idea for nine months — but if brought in, those headed south won’t have any choice but to pay.
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