If there were any doubts that St. Lawrence River waterfront residents are concerned about smuggling activity in their neighbourhoods the turnout for a meeting with the Cornwall Regional Task Force representatives this week put those doubts to rest.
The Precious Blood parish hall in Glen Walter was filled with riverfront residents, some of them worried about threats and intimidation.
Three cheers for Precious Blood pastor Rev. Jacques Labelle for organizing the meeting after listening to the concerns of his parishioners.
One would have thought that the initiative for the town hall meeting would have come from the task force; nevertheless, the task force agreed to attend and field questions, and that is good.
A similar meeting was held last night at St. Joseph's Church in Lancaster where Father Labelle is also pastor.
The message from the task force is simply this: If residents suspect smuggling activity call police.
It is understandable that some might hesitate to call police for fear of retaliation from smugglers.
However, as Father Labelle pointed out, such information can be given to police in confidence.
Smuggling along the waterfront east of Cornwall is not a new problem. The shoreline between Cornwall and Lancaster has been a favourite landing point for cross-river smugglers.
A stretch of the river channel was once referred to as "Smugglers Alley".
With the Cornwall Port moved to the foot of the Seaway International Bridge in Cornwall, it has become next to impossible for cigarettes to move across the bridge from Cornwall Island with impunity.
This has increased activity on the river, especially at night.
According to the task force, smugglers, eager to find new unloading zones, have become more aggressive.
There have been reports of smugglers taking over private wharfs and docks to unload their shipments.
Police say there have been reports of confrontations between smugglers and riverfront property owners.
In response, law enforcement has cranked up the heat on the smugglers, but the task force can't be everywhere, every night.
The task force needs the public's help, and that means instead of talking about the problem residents need to pick up the phone and call police.