US embassy cable - 05MONTREAL110

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