Border Officials Slow Down in the Works
 

CBC said recently that Canadia(e)n border officials are planning a possible slow down that could snarl traffic between the U.S. and Canada this summer, making the crossings already more time-consuming - such as at Detroit-Windsor, notorious for backups sans slow downs.

How would anyone notice?

BAK

During these organized slow-downs, traffic at the US-Can border backs up for miles... typically run during the holiday weekends, agents purposely max out every inspection, having every car open its trunk, and questioning each passenger fully... because they are within the parameters set for the inspections, nothing can be done to speed up the lines... having sat in a 4 hour slowdown last summer, I would advise travelers to pay extra attention this summer to the border updates on-line and on the radio.... If you hear of "over two hour delays", you are better off trying to get out of line and go eat or something else... often the slow-down is at one crossing and if there are other crossing points(niagara has three) it is worth the drive to a non slow-down bridge... good luck!

Even without the slow downs it's ridiculous to have thousands of cars idling for so long at the border crossings.

Fortress North America, here we come.

Why do the Canadian border officials want to have a slow down?

It's in their blood. They're unionized and looking for nearly 30% raise over three years.

What a pain! Time for some sanity and to find a better way to control the border. It's a waste of time and fuel and discourages travel across the borders, which is ridiculous as so many of us have family, friends and business on both sides, to say nothing of the tourist attractions.

I thought NAFTA would make borders practically unneccessary - unfortunately it is not the borderless Europe like Schengen counries have agreed to.

What huge economies to be made by big business and tourists and those who depend on tourists if the border snafu could be eliminated.

Canada and the US are NOT comparable to "borderless" Europe. We have enough of your guns already, thanks.

Apres,

I promise I won't bring any guns into Canada if you promise not to bring any of our California grapefruit back into the US.

In our experience the slow downs do make the border crossings at major highways take much longer.
The thing that slowed us down last time we went into Canada at Highgate Springs Vt (off I-89) in late May was the need to stop for a US border patrol stop before we even got to the Canadian border. I resisted the strong urge to question the person checking our car on the theory it could only cause more delay.

Many folks used to from Detroit area go thru Windsor and hop on the 401 or whatever and then head via Niagara to New York and on easterwards but are now driving significantly farther around Lake Erie thru Ohio and Penn to get to upstate New York and New England - wasting lots of precious oil just to avoid the border snafus.

Daytime?

Just leave Roy Thomson Hall and walk from the doors up to King Street West (first corner) and turn left. Walk a block, cross the street (joun Street) and you'll see a dozen good to very good restaurants, most with patios, right in front of you.

Including the Kit Kat mentioned in my first message (it's about the third one along the street)

Walk along the block, look at what the other epople are eating, and choose a place where the food looks good.

BAK