National" Borders- Trouble at The Cornwall Crossing

[Edward Campbell]

I think we have to recognize a few factors:

• Aboriginal Canadians have a large number of legitimate grievances against the “mainstream” society. Some grievances are related to treaty rights, others to simple racism;

• The aboriginal Canadians are deeply divided amongst themselves. I detect two major groupings that I call the pickpockets and the separatists. The pickpockets want to grab harvest as much money – with the fewest strings attached – as they can while the legal sun shines,* while the separatists want to use the prevailing legal climate to establish a new (second, third or fourth) “order of government” that will give aboriginal communities substantial “sovereignty” – whatever that may mean;

• The aboriginals – of all stripes – have won the PR war. Most Canadians are persuaded that (most? all?) aboriginal grievances are well founded and that redress, on the aboriginals’ terms, is overdue;

• Most Canadians do not understand the potential dimensions of the “settlements” demanded by the many and varied aboriginal factions; and

• Canadian governments, national, provincial and local are terrified – because they are easily terrorized – of aboriginal uprisings.

With regard to this specific dispute:

• I think the Mohawks of Akwesasne are, essentially, separatists, and I recognize that my solution is a “win” for them; but

• I also think that collocating the Canadian border post with the US one (on the US side)  is the worst of all possible solutions. It gives the Mohawks a “win” without cost. Putting a “tight” border post on the Canadian mainland – isolating Cornwall Island – puts a price on sovereignty. There’s an old engineering maxim that says “you can’t manage what you can’t measure.” (That’s why trade unions , for example, have performed such a useful service: they give us a fair useful measure of the cost and value of labour.) Giving the Mohawks a taste of real “sovereignty” (Zap! You’re foreign!) with it’s “price” – international borders on both ends of the road - lets them “measure” the cost and value of sovereignty.

By the way, unlike some others, I was quite (totally) detached from the 1990 events. My directorate had (near) zero involvement (I don’t think anyone in NDHQ was totally, 100% uninvolved, but we were pretty darn close to that (zero) level) so my views on the issue may be skewed.


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* Recognizing that the legal decisions may not go their way forever.

 

[Old Sweat]

Edward

You make some good points re sovereignty as it applies to those who live on Cornwall Island; however there is a considerable part of the Canadian portion of the reserve on the south bank of the St Lawrence in Quebec. Thus people can still evade CBSA examination by travelling by boat back and forth across the river.

Again, the solutions are varied, except none is really satisfactory.

I was deeply involved in the events of 1990, with perhaps more vivid memories of Oka rather than of the Cornwall area. The common perception of those of us inside the box so to speak was that the authorities had started well behind the curve and never caught up. The incidents were clearly being milked by the aboriginal establishment for every drop of publicity that could be gained via a sysmpathetic media. (And they did an excellent job of winning the media war.)

 

[Haggis]

You make some good points re sovereignty as it applies to those who live on Cornwall Island; however there is a considerable part of the Canadian portion of the reserve on the south bank of the St Lawrence in Quebec. Thus people can still evade CBSA examination by travelling by boat back and forth across the river.

My wife used to sell products from her home based business to customers on the Canadian portion(s) of Akwesasne.  It was easier, administratively and distance wise, for her to deliver her product to Snye and St. Regis Quebec by boat from our house in Ontario.  Fortunately, she never left Canadian waters to do this.

 

[Jarnhamar]

The Mohawks say they don’t want armed guards at the post because it would violate their sovereignty and increase the likelihood of violent confrontations.

Mohawk Warriors from the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve near Cornwall say they will storm a Canada Border Services Agency post on Monday and shut down the international border crossin

Other  actions that could avoid violent confrontations COULD very well include something as silly as oh I don't know, not storming a government building.

We are going to clear them (border guards) out

Nothing threatening about that statement.
I remember a few years ago customs officers having to deal with Mohawk "warriors" bringing AK47s, UZI's, Shotguns etc.. and threatening the border guards with them. Some of the brave warriors ever took pop shots at the border crossing post.
You'd have to be crazy to consider having a gun in your face or getting hot at as a threatening gesture and want a handgun for self defense.  :


I'm for searching every vehicle that passes over that POS bridge.

Giving the Mohawks a taste of real “sovereignty” (Zap! You’re foreign!) with it’s “price” – international borders on both ends of the road - lets them “measure” the cost and value of sovereignty.

I like this idea.

 

[Edward Campbell]

Here, reproduced under the Fair Dealing provisions (§29) of the Copyright Act from today’s Globe and Mail, is an update on the situation:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/a-devastating-border-shutdown-a-chaotic-commute/article1203748/

A 'devastating' border shutdown, a chaotic commute

Natives, Cornwallites unite against ’Public Enemy No. 1’ Peter Van Loan

Les Perreaux
Cornwall, Ont. — From Thursday's Globe and Mail Last updated on Wednesday, Jul. 01, 2009

The waters around Cornwall Island are buzzing with motorboats, but these aren't pleasure cruises or the area's notorious smugglers.

The boats plying this part of the St. Lawrence River these days are mostly makeshift ferries hauling commuters across the U.S.-Canada border to the islands and mainland communities of the Akwesasne Reserve.

Long-standing animosity between Mohawks and border guards boiled over May 30, when natives protested the arming of customs agents. The guards fled their Cornwall Island post, saying they feared violence, and the federal government shut down the crossing. Cross-border travellers now must take long detours or navigate the St. Lawrence.

A month into the shutdown, there is little sign of tension between Mohawks and Cornwallites. If anything, they seem united against Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan.

Mohawks filed an application last week asking the Federal Court to order the minister to reopen the border. They have allies among their neighbours.

“I think the minister could make one call and we'd be moving again, but he won't do it and I don't know why,” said Dennis Fortier, owner of a Cornwall trucking company. “He's washed his hands of it.”

With the tourist season under way, hotel and restaurant owners are bracing for a slow summer. Mohawks have also faced difficulties, with rerouted funeral processions, postponed medical care and disrupted garbage pickup.

It's barely 3 p.m. on a work day and Mr. Fortier is sweeping the shop floor and joking with idle truckers. Business is drying up.

Fearing a supply disruption, a U.S. ethanol plant cut orders for crop byproducts from Cornwall. Ten loads a week has been reduced to one.

Mr. Fortier's business is down about 20 per cent this month. He's losing about $5,000 a week in revenue. But he has sympathy for the Mohawk position.

“These are good people who are getting a bum rap in all of this,” Mr. Fortier said. “But the effect is quite devastating. People are getting afraid, thinking of contingency plans.”

A few kilometres south, in the middle of the St. Lawrence, Liz Sunday, a 62-year-old Mohawk grandmother, is making the complicated Akwesasne commute.

Instead of driving over the Seaway International Bridge, Ms. Sunday travels from her Quebec home into U.S. territory at the end of Ransom Road. Then she hops on a boat for a five-minute ride back into Canada. Without clearing customs, she hitches a ride to Cornwall General Hospital to visit her husband, Mitchell, who is recovering from a stroke.

Ms. Sunday embraces the voyage with grace. “I like this, you get to see people you haven't seen in a long time,” she said. “Maybe they should just leave [the border] closed.”

A dozen people on the boat say theirs is a principled fight.

“I'm sort of sick of this, but I don't see why the guards should have guns,” said Niiohontesha Jacobs, 23, U.S.-bound to pick up her two kids from preschool.

Mohawks warned 18 months ago they would not stand for Canadian customs agents carrying 9 mm pistols at the only border post on reserve land.

Akwesasne's outgoing Grand Chief Tim Thompson has called Mr. Van Loan a liar for Ottawa's claim substantive talks were held on the gun issue. A sign at the border post calls Mr. Van Loan Public Enemy No. 1.

Canadian Border Services Agency officials have met Mohawk leaders, but the minister has refused to intervene.

“He won't meet with the mayor of Cornwall, for God's sake,” said Chief Thompson, to be replaced as grand chief by Mike Mitchell next week. Mr. Mitchell says he “completely” shares Chief Thompson's view on the border.

Mr. Van Loan's office declined interview requests. A CBSA spokesperson said officials have met “more than 10 times” with Chief Thompson and a senior bureaucrat has met with Cornwall Mayor Bob Kilger.

At Cornwall City Hall, the tone is less hostile, but Mr. Kilger is looking past Mr. Van Loan and the CBSA for help.

“I'm starting to think someone like [Indian Affairs Minister] Chuck Strahl might be of more assistance. Someone a little more attuned to the history and sensitivities.”

The border post has triggered animosity for decades. Local traffic accounts for 70 per cent of the 4,000 annual crossings, most by Mohawks.

Mohawks say they have filed several human-rights complaints over guard mistreatment. One involves a young man subjected to a body-cavity search. Another is from a woman who says she was forced through an X-ray machine designed to scan trucks. The cases are unresolved.

“If you are a young Mohawk male driving a decent car, you will be searched,” Chief Thompson said. “There is systematic harassment and provocation. My feeling, bottom line, is they're racist. Not all of them, but there's always some in the bunch to ruin the apples.”

The behaviour of U.S. border guards is exemplary, he said.

But Canadian border guards have their own version of history after two decades of asking Ottawa to move the border post outside Mohawk territory.

The border post was the first to get bulletproof glass after it was shot up, according to Customs and Immigration Union president Ron Moran. Akwesasne's status as a Canada-U.S. smuggling hub adds to the tension. At the height of the tobacco-smuggling crackdown in the 1990s, guards were unnerved by red dots trained on them, apparently from laser-sighted weapons.

Mr. Moran says most of the 37 Cornwall Island agents have doctors' notes saying they cannot go back. And they definitely won't return without their weapons. “I think it's irreconcilable at this stage,” he said.

The union boss is one of the few defenders of Mr. Van Loan, saying events took an unpredictable turn. “If you had asked me on the Sunday before it happened, I wouldn't have thought they could close the office. Nobody paid enough attention to it to figure out it would get to this.”

The government is reviewing all options, but none of the potential answers is simple.

Cornwall merchants worry governments will build a new bridge outside the city to bypass the island.

The border guards and Mohawks suggest Canadian customs be moved to the U.S. side. Cornwall's mayor believes the move would face insurmountable legal hurdles.

If the crossing was placed on the Canadian mainland, Akwesasne's Cornwall Island would become Canadian territory in a customs no-man's land – hardly a winning formula for the fight against smuggling.

While one can understand the frustrations of people in Cornwall, the only acceptable solution remains: move the border crossing to Cornwall, proper – on undisputed Canadian territory (as the US post is South of Akwesasne/St. Regis on undisputed US territory. How Canadian Mohawks cross that border is an administrative problem but, I suggest, it is the same way I enter Canada from a foreign country.

Actions have consequences.

 

[Gunnar]

    Giving the Mohawks a taste of real “sovereignty” (Zap! You’re foreign!) with it’s “price” – international borders on both ends of the road - lets them “measure” the cost and value of sovereignty.

I like this idea.

I also like the added implications that only Canadian citizens can cash welfare or UI cheques.  And enter Canada freely, like to go to work.

 

[Haggis]

While one can understand the frustrations of people in Cornwall, the only acceptable solution remains: move the border crossing to Cornwall, proper – on undisputed Canadian territory (as the US post is South of Akwesasne/St. Regis on undisputed US territory.

With the closure of Domtar's Cornwall mill, there is a huge tract of land available for a new all-Canadian Customs house in Cornwall near the base of the existing bridge.  Plans have been in the works to remove the (no longer required) high level north span.  Maybe now is the time.

How Canadian Mohawks cross that border is an administrative problem but, I suggest, it is the same way I enter Canada from a foreign country.

  So, we remove the north span, replace it with a low level span terminating at a new high volume customs faclility on the old Domtar site and fence off the right of way between the north and south spans, effectively closing access to Cornwall Island via this route.

Then, build a second span from Cornwall to Cornwall Island only.  No direct access to the US side from Cornwall Island.  If Akwesasne residents want to pass from east to west Cornwall Island, the MCA can fund a tunnel under the fenced-off right of way.

As I stated a few posts back, like it or not, the Ontario and Quebec portions of Akwesasne are in Canada making all residents (and visitors) subject to Canadian law.  Don't like it?  Separate!

Actions have consequences.

Apparently not if you're native (and politically astutue).

 

[zipperhead_cop]

Don't like it?  Separate!

I believe there are a great many who would like that.  And in Cornwalls case, that would be like creating our own little Kandahar Province in our own backyard.  No thanks. 
Having the Fed and the Province ignore their lawlessness and insurgent activities is bad enough.  Practically giving them a green light to do it from their own little slice of sovereign heaven?  Forget it.  (Unless the plan was to then invade and take it back by force since it was such a destabilizing force in the region  )

 

[Haggis]

I believe there are a great many who would like that.  And in Cornwall's case, that would be like creating our own little Kandahar Province in our own backyard.  No thanks.

There are many, many more who want nothing at all to do with true sovereignty as it would rob them of thier "right" to Canadian services.  Those on Akwesasne who scream loudest are (as usual) a politically and media adept minority who revel in the limelight.

 

[Old Sweat]

The situation is not being helped, in my opinion, by the mayor of Cornwall, an ex-Liberal MP who is doing his bit to damage the CPC brand in the riding. The city is suffering because of the bridge closure and the administration is siding with the Mohawks. The mayor held a press conference recently along with that notable voice of understatement and restraint, Liberal MP Mark Holland. Now, maybe I am going too far to suggest that political games are being played here, but I wonder if we are aware of all the various fish being fried. 

 

[zipperhead_cop]

I had this link sent to me for a good facts sheet about the Cornwall situation:

http://www.marketwire.com/press-release/Customs-And-Immigration-Union-Ciu-1014587.html
Customs and Immigration Union/The Cornwall Situation: No Work Unarmed

OTTAWA, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - July 8, 2009) - "It needs to be clear in everyone's mind that The Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) has taken a categorical position and will never allow its members to work at the Cornwall Border-Crossing un-armed again", said CIU National President Ron Moran from his Ottawa Office this morning. Moran also stated that "people need to further understand that the events which led up to the office closing are such that the Officers can never work at the current location again, armed or unarmed".

Following the events that took place in Cornwall on May 31st, 2009, the Union reiterates its full support to Peter Van Loan, Minister of Public Safety, to make no exception to the government's policy to arm all Front-Line Customs and Immigration Officers across Canada and to leave the Cornwall Border-Crossing closed until the situation is resolved.

The Customs & Immigration Union has for decades taken the position that the Cornwall Customs & Immigration facility should have never been set up on native land; the office's historical tensions have always stemmed from the fact that the office was located on the reserve. Given that the current native-provoked situation is clearly irreconcilable, now, more than ever, the office must be moved off the island.

From the beginning, many Canadian Medias have released inaccurate and often false information about the manner in which the events unfolded at Cornwall/Akwesasne. To clarify and to better inform the population about the background of this situation, CIU has put together the attached fact-list.

The Customs and Immigration Union (CIU) is a component of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), which represents Canada's Front-Line Customs and Immigration Officers. CIU also represents Investigation, Intelligence and Trade Customs Officers, Immigration Inland Enforcement and Hearings Officers, as well as all support staff - all of whom work at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).


THE CORNWALL SITUATION: FACT-SHEET

Facts Relating to the Closing of the Cornwall Border-Crossing

- The Officers did not flee or even indicate they wanted to leave the port on their own initiative, in fact they had lots of food and were fully prepared to bunker-in had the Agency's decision been to stay.

- It was the Agency who took the decision to close the border-crossing at 11:20 that Sunday night (May 31st); and with the reality of moves undertaken by the Mohawk Community at that point, there was no other logical decision that could have been taken.

- It is fascinating how others such as Minister Van Loan are being blamed for the situation when in fact it is the following events which led to the office closing.

- The intimidation tactics had, at that point (May 31st), escalated from Mohawks (and supporters) gathering around the office and walking in to stare-down the Officers (this went on during the weeks leading up to May 31st), to four (4) bonfires burning around the CBSA compound and about 200 Mohawks gathered around the office, many dressed in camouflage with scarves covering their faces, with a bulldozer ready to go. By then the Warriors had made threats through the media that they would swarm the office and disarm the Officers themselves should the Agency proceed with the arming. Ten minutes prior to closing the office, at around 11:10pm on May 31st, Chief Thomson, Chief King, and the Chief of the Akwesasne Police had together come into the CBSA building to announce that they could, from this point, no longer ensure the safety of those who would choose to stay.

- Given the situation was now on a certain path of violence, the only rational decision that could have been made was taken; to shut down the office. Agency management informed the staff that they were to get ready to leave, pack their things and shut systems down as though they were never coming back.

- The Officers had to leave by the US-side, meaning they had to go home to their families via a friendly third country that night, having been subjected to what can only be described as a concerted act of terrorism.

- As the Office was shutting-down, yells of victory erupted from the gathered native crowd which was followed by a pow-wow style celebration that included rising the Mohawk flag up the CBSA flag pole. But then silence settled-in with the realization that this so called "victory" meant that they had effectively and indefinitely interrupted the service allowing the free-flow of traffic between Canada and the United-States.

Other Important Facts:

- Non-native law-enforcement officers have been working on reserves with the protection of a side-arm for decades; the side-arm training currently being used by the CBSA is the highest in the country (RCMP Standard).

- Arming Canada's Front-Line Customs & Immigration Officers is a decision that was responsibly taken subsequent to many independent risk-assessment and risk management experts as well as a Parliamentary Committee all concluding that arming was now a needed requirement. That the Conservative Government chose to do so prior to there being a body count at the border is something that should, if anything, be applauded.

Note: The most predominant of the abovementioned independent risk-assessment reports, "The Northgate Report", can be found at: http://www.ciu-sdi.ca/english/publications/reports/Other/Northgate.pdf

The Parliamentary Report being referred to is entitled "Borderline Insecure" and it can be found at: http://www.parl.gc.ca/38/1/parlbus/commbus/senate/com-e/defe-e/rep-e/repintjun05-e.htm

- It is completely untrue that the CBSA's side-arm initiative comes with additional search powers or authorities which would see the number of personal searches increase in any way shape or form. The initiative's only goal and extremely important purpose is that if an Officer was ever subjected to a level of violence that would justify defending himself or herself with their side-arm, for example if someone were to open fire on them, they would at least have a chance of making it back home to their families at the end of that particular shift.

- It is important to underscore the fact that the very high-end majority of Akwesasne residents get along extremely well with CBSA staff; these residents understanding that the Officers have a job they must perform and that they (the Officers) have nothing to do and don't even have influence over the issues which the community may have with governments such as land-claims or sovereignty matters. That being said, there are some members of this native community who make it their mission to be abusive with the Officers by being verbally aggressive and repeatedly reminding them that they are on Mohawk land. These individuals will usually not comply with the Officer's questioning (point-of-entry questioning is the same for every traveler entering Canada and is solely aimed at determining admissibility); these are of course the situations which tend to degenerate.

- It must also be said that the Cornwall border-crossing is by far the one which has seen the most community/Officer tensions over the decades. It has been the stage of the most dangerous situations which include it being shot at numerous times (it was in fact accordingly fitted with bullet-proof glass); it has been the scene of a hostage taking by Mohawks, it's officers have had red long-arm scope lasers pointed at them while working nights, and the list goes on.

- Believing that the residents of Akwesasne ever had a chance of winning this stand-off implies that Canadians would be prepared to accept that the country's smuggling epicentre (my emphasis) would have the only un-armed law-enforcement Officers in the country working there as a result of an appeal from that community.

- While the closing of the Cornwall border-crossing is currently generating most of the attention, it's important not to lose sight of what Cornwall is usually and notoriously known for: the smuggling. All intelligence reports of the recent years conclude with the same caution which is that the majority of smuggling corridors which are currently being used for people, gun, drug, and tobacco smuggling, could also easily accommodate smuggling requests from terrorist groups. In fact, given scruple levels tend to be non-existent amidst those who assume these types of organized-crime operations, such requests would usually be accommodated without any form of hesitation or question.

- Akwesasne's Cornwall border-crossing used to handle an average of between 3000 and 4000 travelers a day with the majority (about 70%) being residents of the reserve itself; the crossing also used to handle an average of between 200 and 300 trucks per day.

 

[TCBF]

- My solution: Give all of the Canadian part of the Reserve to the USA.  Move their and our border crossings to the Reserve/Ont/Que borders.  Done.

 

[Larkvall]

- My solution: Give all of the Canadian part of the Reserve to the USA.  Move their and our border crossings to the Reserve/Ont/Que borders.  Done.

Well, it would be one option. I suggest they leave the crossing closed and after a suitable cooling off period (about 10 years) they can sit down and maybe work something out. Apparently the mayor of Cornwall is opposed to having the border crossing in his city.

Just keep it closed.

 

[Fishbone Jones]

Bob Kilger, the mayor of Cornwall, is a petty elected official with no stature to tell the Fedreal gov't what they can and cannot do with the border. He's part of the problem anyway, going around and enabling the Mohawk warriors by taking their side. He's a professional politician and really not worth listening to. Non starter.

 

[zipperhead_cop]

- My solution: Give all of the Canadian part of the Reserve to the USA.  Move their and our border crossings to the Reserve/Ont/Que borders.  Done.

You think the USA wants to inherit that Gong Show?  That is like suggesting that Egypt just take over Palestine.  They sure as hell don't want them. 
I like the general ideal of putting our backs to them though. 

 

[Larkvall]

Bob Kilger, the mayor of Cornwall, is a petty elected official with no stature to tell the Fedreal gov't what they can and cannot do with the border. He's part of the problem anyway, going around and enabling the Mohawk warriors by taking their side. He's a professional politician and really not worth listening to. Non starter.

I wasn't suggesting we listen to him. It just sounds like he is in someone's back pocket.

Here is a video on the issue. Sounds like the natives are much happier with the crossing closed.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQQNz0FKCKI

 

[Larkvall]

Looks like this fellow was hoping for trouble....  :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbAnfiwod7I

 

[chris_log]

Looks like this fellow was hoping for trouble....  :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BbAnfiwod7I

Hearing those twits talking about their 'rights' makes me gag, when they are utterly incapable of taking any responsibility for themselves. Being near and seeing some of the effects of being near the Six Nations reserve in Ontario gave me an idea of what they're like...but being in where I am now has really opened my eyes.

Makes me sick.

 

[George Wallace]

- My solution: Give all of the Canadian part of the Reserve to the USA.  Move their and our border crossings to the Reserve/Ont/Que borders.  Done.

Or as you have seen in the past, TCBF:  Erect the "Berlin Wall" along the corridor.    >

Fifteen foot walls on both sides, wire, and mine lanes Guard Dog runs.  >

 

[TCBF]

- Good fences make good neighbours.