CORNWALL - The Grand Chief of Akwesasne hopes a dedicated lane at the temporary customs checkpoint for travellers between Cornwall and Cornwall Island will improve conditions.
The Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) released a statement Wednesday saying that the Cornwall port of entry is scheduled to open a lane exclusively for anyone living on or visiting Cornwall Island, a district of Akwesasne, and is on their way to the City of Cornwall.
"This dedicated lane will be available to domestic travellers from Cornwall Island (Kawehnoke) only," read the statement. "Travellers entering Canada from the United States must continue to report directly to the interim port of entry in the City of Cornwall in accordance with the terms of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and Customs Act. This includes individuals who have Cornwall Island (Kawehnoke) as their destination."
In other words, anyone who was in New York State and is headed to Cornwall Island for a visit must first drive to the customs plaza at the base of the Seaway International Bridge in Cornwall to check in with a border services officer.
Otherwise, the CBSA will take action to enforce its laws.
Mike Mitchell, Grand Chief of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, called the addition of a dedicated lane "a slight improvement."
"I'm always glad when I hear of something new that's not going to make things worse," Mitchell said. "It's hard to say for sure though because I won't know if this is going to be better until I hear from the people who use the lane."
Mitchell says there is still going to be a bottleneck for travellers across the bridge, which has been "very busy" lately.
The Grand Chief added that the people of Akwesasne and the CBSA have to keep focused on "the big picture," an ongoing dispute over the arming of border services officers and alleged human rights abuses by officers at the permanent customs checkpoint on Cornwall Island, which was shutdown by the CBSA on May 31, 2009 during a heated protest by the Mohawks of Akwesasne.
Stormont, Dundas and South Glengarry MP Guy Lauzon said he is "really pleased" to hear about the dedicated lane.
"This has been an issue that I have worked on closely with CBSA officials over the last few months to reach a solution that would facilitate traffic better at the port of entry," Lauzon said in a statement. "This change is great news for our local businesses as it expedites traffic along the bridge that often shop and do business here in the City of Cornwall."
Both Lauzon and the CBSA say they look forward to continuing to work "to improve the temporary port of entry even further, and in the long term, find a permanent solution to the Port of Entry situation."