Boulder baffle at the border
There was a recent addition to the landscaping on Church Street in Stanstead beside the Haskell Free Library in the form of a row of large boulders.
The small town charm associated with the flower pot border and the harmonious half U.S. half Canadian library and opera house was snuffed out in October of 2017 with the placement of two large signs posted by the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) telling asylum seekers, in very clear language, “Claiming asylum is not a free ticket into Canada”.
The U.S. Border Patrol has gone the extra mile to make sure the once invisible border is very clearly marked and defended as of Tuesday morning, when the row of boulders was installed.
In both cases, the abrupt maneuvres prompted speculation from locals, having received no clear information from any agencies involved with border security.
The Record contacted Librarian Nancy Rumery for details about the new lawn ornaments. On behalf of the Haskell, she declined to comment.
The Record contacted CBSA media relations person Dominique Mcneeley, and was told the property in question was private and the CBSA had no involvement in the placement of any boulders.
He did point out, however, that the ominous signs mounted in October that drew the ire of locals, are scheduled to be scaled down and moved as soon as the ground thaws.
The Record contacted the media relations person for the RCMP, who was entirely unaware of any boulder border activity, and could not confirm anything by press time.
Steve Cribby, a spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection agency, confirmed that there had been two instances in recent months of people crossing the border illegally by driving across the lawn of the Haskell Free Library. The first happened on February 26, involving a vehicle carrying five people, three adults and two children, all individuals of Romanian citizenship.
According to a press release sent out by the U.S. Border Patrol, the five had recently legally entered Canada under the country’s visa waiver program, which exempts Romanians from obtaining a visa prior to entering Canada.
Cribby said the incident on March 6 was the ‘same type’, but did not go into detail.
The Record asked if the placement of the boulders was a reaction to the recent illegal crossings and if there had been any other attempts recently to drive across the border on Church Street.
Cribby said he would look into the situation but did not reply by press time.