CAMPOBELLO ISLAND RESIDENTS FEELING CUT OFF

UNCLAS HALIFAX 000012 SIPDIS FOR WHA/CAN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PBTS PREL PTER PGOV ETRD CA SUBJECT: CAMPOBELLO ISLAND RESIDENTS FEELING CUT OFF ¶1. Regional press and politicians have begun to focus attention on the plight of the 1450 residents of Campobello Island, New Brunswick. This small a small Island in the Bay of Fundy is, from September to July, accessible from Canada only via a bridge to Lubec, Maine. During the summer a private ferry connects Campobello Island to New Brunswick's Deer Island and mainland New Brunswick, but there is no ferry service the rest of the year. Prior to September 11, Campobello Island residents say that they enjoyed virtually unhindered access through Maine to New Brunswick, but since then, they claim that increased U.S. security concerns have left them practically captives in their own homes. ¶2. The Islanders complain that new procedures, especially under heightened alert situations, have been slowing the movement of people and goods. Last month the complaints reached a new level when new U.S. bioterrorism regulations were implemented and the residents complained that U.S. border officials had opened their Canadian mail as it passed through the U.S. en route to Campobello. Canadian postal officials subsequently reported that they had worked out an arrangement with DHS whereby the U.S. authorities would not open Canadian mail unless there was a suspicious item. ¶3. The latest issue that is gaining both media and political attention is the future of the Island's only grocery store. The store has escalating problems with availability of supplies and is headed for bankruptcy and closure if it cannot find a way to keep its shelves stocked. Conservative MP Greg Thompson who represents the Island constituents in the Federal House of Commons has been the focus of several media reports, especially with his proposal that Canadian customs officials pre-check all deliveries to Campobello Island. According to Thompson, that way, no matter what the level of the U.S. alert situation, Canadian supplies would still reach Canadian citizens without U.S. authorities delaying shipments. New Brunswick Premier Bernard Lord and his senior bureaucrats are also putting the issue high on their agenda and have confirmed the seriousness of the situation with the grocery store and have asked us to intercede. ¶4. COMMENT: This issue came up during CG's recent trip to New Brunswick. We don't have all of the facts, but the outline seems pretty clear, and the islanders' situation has only been exacerbated by the Canadian and U.S. BSE cases, which have closed U.S. and Canadian borders to each other's beef. END COMMENT. HILL