Cornwall port of entry decision still up in air

CORNWALL ISLAND, Ontario — The makeshift port of entry in Cornwall is not going anywhere, for at least the next year.

All four of the permanent locations for the port of entry are still on the table, officials from the Canada Border Services Agency told Cornwall Mayor Robert Kilger and Michael Mitchell, grand chief of the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne, at the end of August.

The two were told that "the assessment of the four options and decisions on the permanent facility have taken longer than expected," CBSA spokeswoman Patrizia Giolti said in an e-mail.

The options being considered are relocating the temporary checkpoint to Massena, keeping it at the base of Brookdale Avenue in the city, moving it back to the original location on Cornwall Island or closing the port altogether.

Since the Canadian government just agreed to spend $75 million to replace the north span of the Seaway International Bridge, the last seems unlikely.

CBSA also is focusing on options other than Cornwall Island, according to Ms. Giolti.

The checkpoint on the island, which is part of the Akwesasne territory, was closed in June 2009 after Mohawks protested a policy to arm Canadian border guards. The bridge was closed for six weeks before reopening with the checkpoint relocated to the city of Cornwall.

Since the relocation, residents of Cornwall Island have been required to travel to the Canadian mainland to check in with customs before going to their destination on the island, creating long lines at the port of entry and headaches for Mohawks.

In the 15 months since the dispute began, talks between CBSA and the Mohawk Council have broken down and restarted at least twice.

The delay will not have an effect on the replacement of the north span of the bridge.

"There will be sufficient flexibility to allow the CBSA to decide upon any of the options notwithstanding the bridge logistics," Ms. Giolti said.