Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05MONTREAL110
2005-02-02 12:42:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Montreal
Cable title:  

HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MEET SIX-HOUR DELAY AT

Tags:  PBTS CASC ECON CA 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTREAL 000110 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAN EVELYN WHEELER

OTTAWA FOR CONS, POL, ECON AND PD


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PBTS CASC ECON CA
SUBJECT: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MEET SIX-HOUR DELAY AT
CANADIAN PORT OF ENTRY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MONTREAL 000110

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAN EVELYN WHEELER

OTTAWA FOR CONS, POL, ECON AND PD


E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PBTS CASC ECON CA
SUBJECT: HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS MEET SIX-HOUR DELAY AT
CANADIAN PORT OF ENTRY


1. Summary. On Sunday, January 30, 2005, fifteen busloads
of U.S. high school students were delayed for six hours at
the St. Bernard-Lacolle (Lacolle) port of entry (POE) into
Canada. The students were headed for a ski weekend at Mt.
Tremblant. The tour organizer believes his group was
trapped in one of the work slowdowns that Canadian border
inspectors themselves have well publicized. The Consul
General, citing welfare responsibilities for U.S. citizens
as well as interest in facilitation of cross-border travel
and commerce, faxed a letter of inquiry to the Lacolle Port
Director to request an update on entry processing at
Canada's largest port of entry in Quebec. (Text of the
letter is provided below.) End summary.


2. On Sunday morning (January 30),Montreal's duty officer
received a call from a U.S. citizen whose company organizes
weekend ski trips for U.S. high school students. Fifteen
busloads of students headed for a weekend at Mt. Tremblant
were seriously delayed at the Lacolle POE into Canada, on
Interstate 87 south of Montreal. Reportedly, the buses had
arrived around 3:00 am, and by 7:30 am only three buses had
been cleared into Canada. By 9:00 am, two additional buses
were allowed entry. The tour organizer believes the buses
were trapped in one of the work slowdowns which Canadian
border inspectors themselves have well publicized.


3. The duty officer spoke to the Canadian supervisor at the
port, who said they were carefully inspecting each bus
because they found several students with false
identification and "indications there might be drugs." He
said they had past problems with student ski trip buses
carrying quantities of drugs. He said buses in which they
found no problems were being cleared "in ten minutes," but
admitted ten buses were still waiting at the port.


4. The tour organizer had asked for USG assistance because
the students were not allowed off the buses and had been
unable to get breakfast during the long wait. In fact,
Canadian authorities never detained the buses. The Port
Supervisor told the tour leaders they were free to return to
Champlain, NY at any time to have breakfast, but they also
said the buses would have to requeue at the end of the line

upon return. If the tour leaders felt their passengers'
welfare was threatened, they could have turned back into New
York, although admittedly the added delay would have doomed
their weekend of skiing.


5. It is possible the Canadian border inspectors "work-to-
rule" tactics were partially responsible for the delay. At
7:00 am Sunday (1/30),the Canadian Border Security Agency
website reported two-hour delays crossing at Lacolle, which
seem far longer than a normal Sunday morning. At the same
time, however, we have no solid basis to question the Port
Supervisor's claim that some in-depth inspections were
necessary. Although the tour organizer said no drugs have
ever been found on his trips, it is possible that Canadian
inspectors find contraband on buses arranged by other
companies, and therefore prudently inspect all such groups.


6. Nonetheless, taking more than six hours to inspect 5 out
of 15 buses is excessive. Unless authorities were actually
finding drugs among these particular passengers (and we have
not heard anything to indicate they did),the length of the
inspection seems unreasonable. This raises concerns about
the treatment of U.S. tour groups and the movement of
commerce through the Lacolle POE.


7. The Consul General sent a letter of inquiry to the
Lacolle Port Director (a recent IVP grantee). Text of the
letter (dated February 1) follows:


Mr. Jean Cheney
Port Director
Citizenship and Immigration Canada
Rte 15
St. Bernard de Lacolle
(Quebec) Canada J0J 1V0

Dear Mr. Cheney:

I am writing to bring to your attention a particularly
serious delay that occurred at the St. Bernard - Lacolle
port of entry (POE) on Sunday, January 30, 2005, that
affected a significant number of U.S. high school students.
The following is a synopsis of what transpired on the
morning of January 30, 2005.

Sunday morning (January 30),U.S. Consulate General
Montreal's duty officer received a report that 15 buses
carrying a group of U.S. high school students for a ski
weekend at Mt. Tremblant were seriously delayed at the St
Bernard - Lacolle POE. Reportedly, the buses had arrived
around 0300 hours and, by 0730 hours only three buses had
been cleared into Canada. By 0900 hours, reportedly only
two additional buses had been processed.

The Consulate General's Consular Section Chief, Gary
Sheaffer, spoke with the port's supervisor on duty. The
supervisor reported that port inspectors were carefully
inspecting each bus because they found several students with
false identification and indications there might be drugs.
He said they had had past problems with student ski trip
buses carrying quantities of drugs. He said buses in which
they found no problems were being cleared "in ten minutes,"
but admitted ten buses were still waiting at the port.

Reportedly, the students were not allowed off the buses and
had been unable to get breakfast during the long wait.
Admittedly, the tour organizer had an option to return to
Champlain, NY at any time for breakfast. He noted, however,
that the prospect of having to requeue, adding a further
delay to the trip, may have doomed the group's ski weekend.

The more than six hours it took to clear the buses seems
excessive, unless authorities actually were finding drugs
among these particular passengers. We have not heard
anything to indicate that the high schools students were
carrying drugs.

In light of the Consulate's responsibilities to inform
prospective American citizen travelers about possible travel
hazards or problems, I respectfully request an update on the
state of entry processing at St. Bernard - Lacolle, Canada's
largest port of entry in Quebec. As such delays adversely
affect cross-border travel and commerce, I also am seeking
your intervention to ensure reasonable inspections that will
facilitate a smooth flow of people and goods across the St.
Bernard - Lacolle border.


Sincerely,


Bernadette M. Allen
Consul General
U.S. Consulate General
Montreal

ALLEN