Small vessel reporting sites are expressing frustration as COVID-19 restrictions continue to restrict cross-border services for boaters.
As boating season ramps up, the owners of Port Lambton’s RiverKraft Marine and Resort (formally Ecarte Marina) feel they are being left in the lurch by the federal government, which continues to prevent them from offering reporting services for boaters looking to enter the country.
“We’re starting to get back to normal and we have our boaters here that love to travel to the United States, and they’re excited too, and then they hear that you have to go all the way to Sarnia or to Windsor,” said RiverKraft co-owner Nadine Kraft. “And gas prices are crazy. I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
According to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), “service at this location has been temporarily suspended until further notice.”
Kraft said she has repeatedly called the CBSA looking for an update on when cross-border services will be restored. However, Kraft said she has been told by CBSA officials that the agency does not have enough staff and boaters will have to utilize the next closest reporting site in Sarnia or Windsor.
However, in an email response to CKXS News, the CBSA said it is taking a “phased and measured approach to restoring border operations.”
“As such, some of the border measures (reductions in hours of service and temporary suspensions) put in place in response to the pandemic are currently maintained,” said CBSA spokesperson Patrick Mahaffy. “A phased service recovery ensures that sufficient resources are available to properly manage the border and maintain optimal capacity in CBSA operations, while supporting government objectives to reduce COVID-19 risk for Canadians.”
The CBSA said a “comprehensive national analysis” of all small vessel reporting sites is taking place to determine, which sites are the most impacted by the temporary COVID-19 measures.
“In an effort to support a permanent resumption of service delivery, the CBSA will consider, among other criteria, the pre-COVID volumes, the proximity to alternate marine reporting sites and the availability of CBSA resources due to the distance to provide services,” said Mahaffy. “This exercise will allow the reassessment of the level of service offered at each SVRS and ensure publicly funded border services are offered in the most efficient and cost-effective manner.”
RiverKraft is one of the hundreds of ports that remain closed to cross-border boaters due to COVID-19 restrictions. There are currently only 86 small vessel reporting sites that are operating in the province, compared to around 400 prior to the pandemic.
“I have a lot of boaters here who are totally confused as to why it’s not a port of call anymore,” said Kraft. “It’s been too long. We want to travel and we want to make it easy for when we come back.”
This issue was brought up during Question Period in the House of Commons on Friday, with the Conservatives urging immediate action from the federal Liberals.
“As boating season opens up, boaters will have to travel hundreds of kilometres to report their vessel,” said Essex MP Chris Lewis. “The government is needlessly adding emissions, stifling the economy and putting boaters at risk if the weather changes while travelling excessive distances to reach one of the few reporting sites.”
Lambton-Kent Middlesex MP Lianne Rood also stood up in the House, calling continued restrictions on marine crossings “ridiculous”.
“Boaters in my riding simply need to cross an 800-metre-wide river to get to Michigan. But CBSA, wants them to go 76 km round trip just to check-in. One constituent wrote me to say it would cost him $1,200 per trip just to meet this requirement,” said Rood. “This will cripple tourism and day shopping during the busiest time of the year, hurting small communities like Wallaceburg, Mitchell’s Bay and Port Lambton just to name a few.”
In his response, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra did not provide an update for small vessel reporting sites, nor did he provide any kind of timeline for the lifting of those restrictions.
“As we are turning the corner in the pandemic, we are adjusting our measures, we are working with community stakeholders to ensure we return to normal as quickly as possible,” said Alghabra.
Land border crossings between the United States and Canada have been open to travellers since November of 2021. All COVID-19 testing requirements were also fully lifted for vaccinated travellers on April 1, 2022.
