The difference this time is that it involves an American citizen. And,
he didn't have a gun unlike the Canadian bozo last year.
There is a better version of the story here:
Cross-border worshipping costs $10,000
By RHÉAL SÉGUIN
With a report from Associated Press
UPDATED AT 12:11 PM EST
Monday, Feb. 9, 2004
QUEBEC -- For more than 40 years, U.S. citizen Richard Albert did not
think twice about crossing into Canada, just 30 metres from his home in
Maine.
Now, under border restrictions by the terrorist-wary United States, he
faces $10,000 (U.S.) in fines after simply attending church in
St-Pamphile, Que., and spending time with his family in Canada.
His alternative route home, after driving into Canada with no trouble,
would have been a 320-kilometre trip to the border crossing at Fort
Kent, Me., over dirt logging roads.
From his remote northern Maine outpost called Township 15 Range 15, Mr.
Albert and residents of three other homes feel the impact of the U.S.
Bureau of Customs and Border Protection's tight security measures in
the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Every time Maine residents return home from Quebec after the local U.S.
border stations close, they do so illegally and could face fines.
Cameras monitor the border after regular working hours and fines are
sent by mail.
"It was never an issue to cross before May 1, 2003, when they put a
gate on the boundary and locked it up," Mr. Albert said. "This
situation -- it's like having a nightmare, and you feel that Big
Brother is really controlling you and you can do nothing about it."
On a Sunday in January, Mr. Albert went into St-Pamphile, Que., to
babysit his niece, then returned to attend church. He had no trouble
entering Canada because he and other U.S. residents along the border
have passes from the Canadian government allowing them to enter when
the border station is closed.
But U.S. law forbids crossing back into the United States when that
country's station is closed. Mr. Albert said he received a penalty
notice in the mail last week saying no decision had been made about his
fines. He expects to hear in the next 60 days how much, if anything, he
will have to pay.
Until last May, U.S. residents could cross the border at their
discretion. But the U.S. Bureau of Customs eliminated what was called
the Form 1 program, which allowed such after-hours crossings.
Nobody in the settlement can cross legally from Canada before 6 a.m.
and after 9 p.m. on weekdays and before 8 a.m. and after 4 p.m. on
Saturdays. The crossing is closed all day Sunday.
Mr. Albert's brother, Robert Albert, said residents living on the U.S.
side of the border must drive more than 100 kilometres on a private
logging road to obtain basic amenities in Maine if they cannot cross
into St-Pamphile, a town of about 3,000 residents.
The situation is not unlike that of Michel Jalbert of Pohénégamook,
Que., who was arrested in 2002 after crossing the border into the
United States with his hunting rifle to buy gasoline.
© 2004 Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. All Rights Reserved.
On Monday, February 9, 2004, at 08:38 AM, Tom Sanders wrote:
>
> Is this in Estcourt Station?
>
> Wherever it is, it proves that US Customs learned nothing from the
> cross-border gas buying incident last March. In fact, it sounds like a
> solution - the frequent visitor program - was found, but then
> eliminated.
>
> Looks like Colin Powell might have to make yet another trip to Ottawa
> to smooth some ruffled feathers.
>
> At the Blue Water Bridge, the frequent visitor program, NEXUS, is
> being credited with easing the backups on both sides. (There's a
> special lane for NEXUS users only. Insert your card, and away you go.
> The visiting nurses probably love it, hi.)
>
>
>
>
>
>
> ---------------------------------
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