OSOYOOS TIMES-October 7, 2009

By Paul Everest – Osoyoos Times

For Osoyoos’s Don Brunner, little has changed in the last 70 years when it comes to the Osoyoos border crossing.
“In 1937 we had one lane and 72 years later we have one lane and there’s more traffic now,” he said.
Brunner and Albin Hochsteiner of Osoyoos were two of about 20 people who attended a community forum in Osoyoos on Sept. 24 hosted by Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko, Mayor Stu Wells, rural Area A Director Mark Pendergraft and Diana Thomas, a representative of Boundary-Similkameen MLA John Slater’s Osoyoos office.
Brunner and Hochsteiner raised concerns about the flow of traffic at the border crossing during the forum, telling the panel that people are often having to wait in long lines to re-enter Canada from Washington state.
The men said the main problem is, most of the time, only one of the six gates is open for people returning to Canada and they believe more gates should be opened at busier times to accommodate heavier traffic volumes.
Both men said they have never seen more than two lanes open for people returning to Canada.
In an interview with the Osoyoos Times on Oct. 2, Brunner, who travels to the U.S. several times a month to buy gas or play music, said he has spoken with the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) supervisor at the Osoyoos crossing about the delays.
The supervisor said the crossing is short-staffed at the moment, Brunner said, adding that he doesn’t buy that excuse.
He said if there is a staffing issue, the CBSA should hire a student.
Brunner also said Osoyoos’s small businesses, the Town of Osoyoos and Destination Osoyoos should be pressuring the CBSA to improve traffic flow at the border because businesses on both sides of the boundary are suffering from long wait times.
For example, a family from Oroville, Wash., will not want to come to Osoyoos for dinner if there’s a chance they’ll have to sit in a long line at the border, he said.
Brunner said he’s had to wait as long as 45 minutes to re-enter Canada at the Osoyoos crossing.
On the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 13, several people said they waited at least an hour-and-a-half to cross from Oroville into Osoyoos.
Jocelyn Merit, an employee of the Osoyoos Times, said she was in the line that afternoon after going to Oroville for gas and groceries.
She said she waited an hour-and-a-half to cross and when she reached the gate, the lineup behind her had grown even longer than when she first entered it.
Brunner also said such long waits at the border aren’t helping the province’s goals of reducing carbon emissions since vehicles have to idle for so long in the lineup.
Hochsteiner, who participated in the same Oct. 2 interview with the Times and goes across the border once a week, said he’s never seen a lane designated for trucks open.
That seems odd, he added, considering that Hwy. 97 is a busy route for trucks coming and going from the U.S.
Hochsteiner also said many people in Osoyoos are frustrated with wait times at the Osoyoos crossing but are afraid to voice concerns out of fear they’ll be given a hard time by border guards the next time they try to return to Canada.
Brunner and Hochsteiner said their concerns about the border were brought to Atamanenko’s attention.
Both men said they’d like to see Atamanenko go across the border and wait in a line.
In a telephone interview the same day, Atamanenko said such concerns have been brought to his attention in the past.
He said he wants more information about any unnecessary delays at the border before taking action on the problem.
“We have to find out why it’s happening and fix it.”
Atamanenko added that he gave Brunner and Hochsteiner contact information for federal Public Safety Minister Peter Van Loan.
The Public Safety Ministry oversees the CBSA.
Brunner said he emailed Van Loan on Oct. 4 and informed him that only one Canada-bound lane at the border is open most of the time, even when there is a high number of vehicles looking to return to B.C.
A spokesman from the minister’s office could not confirm by press time if Van Loan was aware of Brunner’s email or if the ministry was intending to address any alleged problems here.
The spokesman did say the minister’s practice was to always respond to such concerns.
Hannah Mahoney, a spokeswoman for the CBSA, would not provide the Osoyoos Times with staffing numbers for the Osoyoos crossing for “safety and security reasons.”
When asked what it would take to open two or more lines at the crossing, Mahoney said in an email that the CBSA management “closely monitors border wait times and every effort is made to improve traffic flow and to respond to traffic fluctuations.”
“Our objective remains to facilitate the travel of legitimate people and goods while maintaining the safety and security of all Canadians,” she said. “Generally, we have two lanes open from (11 a.m. to 6 p.m.) during most of the summer, and frequently we have three lanes open.”
Mahoney also said the CBSA publishes border wait times hourly on its website to assist travellers planning their return to Canada.
“The CBSA recommends to travellers to choose non-traditional peak periods for border crossing, for example early in the morning,” she said. “Long weekends usually mean longer lines at the border as well. Travellers should add this travel time to their itinerary.”
The current Osoyoos port of entry facility was opened in 2003 and is the busiest border crossing in the Okanagan and Kootenay regions.
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