Cornwall Island (Ontario)
Encyclopedia
Cornwall Island is an island in the Saint Lawrence River
Saint Lawrence River
The Saint Lawrence is a large river flowing approximately from southwest to northeast in the middle latitudes of North America, connecting the Great Lakes with the Atlantic Ocean. It is the primary drainage conveyor of the Great Lakes Basin...

, directly south of the city of Cornwall
Cornwall, Ontario
Cornwall is a city in Eastern Ontario, Canada and the seat of the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry, Ontario. Cornwall is Ontario's easternmost city, located on the St...

. The island is located completely in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, but is also part of the Akwesasne
Akwesasne
The Mohawk Nation of Akwesasne is a Mohawk Nation territory that straddles the intersection of international and provincial borders on both banks of the Saint Lawrence River. Most of the land is in what is otherwise the United States...

 Mohawk reserve that straddles the Canada – United States border border as well as the Quebec
Quebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....

 – Ontario border.

Illegal smuggling

The Canada – United States border on the island is a constant route for smuggling illegal cigarette
Cigarette
A cigarette is a small roll of finely cut tobacco leaves wrapped in a cylinder of thin paper for smoking. The cigarette is ignited at one end and allowed to smoulder; its smoke is inhaled from the other end, which is held in or to the mouth and in some cases a cigarette holder may be used as well...

s into Canada. In 2005, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
Royal Canadian Mounted Police
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police , literally ‘Royal Gendarmerie of Canada’; colloquially known as The Mounties, and internally as ‘The Force’) is the national police force of Canada, and one of the most recognized of its kind in the world. It is unique in the world as a national, federal,...

 (RCMP) stated that 20,000 cigarette cartons cross the border illegally every day. During January and February 2005, 35 shipments of smuggled cigarettes were seized, more than three times the number of seizures made over the same period in 2004. In 2008 the RCMP estimated that more than 90% of illegal cigarettes sold in Canada come from Akwesasne.

Border closure

On May 1, 2009, the Government of Canada
Government of Canada
The Government of Canada, formally Her Majesty's Government, is the system whereby the federation of Canada is administered by a common authority; in Canadian English, the term can mean either the collective set of institutions or specifically the Queen-in-Council...

 announced that the Canada Border Services Agency
Canada Border Services Agency
The Canada Border Services Agency is a federal law enforcement agency that is responsible for border enforcement, immigration enforcement and customs services....

 (CBSA) will be permitted firearm
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...

s at all border crossings
Border checkpoint
A border checkpoint is a place, generally between two countries, where travellers and/or goods are inspected. Authorization often is required to enter a country through its borders. Access-controlled borders often have a limited number of checkpoints where they can be crossed without legal...

 along the Canada – United States border starting June 1. Starting that day Border Services Officers (BSO) will be permitted to carry 9mm handguns at all border crossings. Mohawk leaders immediately announced their opposition to the policy, stating that they want an exception made in the policy for the Cornwall border crossing because it is located on Mohawk land, and launched protest
Protest
A protest is an expression of objection, by words or by actions, to particular events, policies or situations. Protests can take many different forms, from individual statements to mass demonstrations...

s against the policy the same day it was announced. The Akwesasne Mohawks further stated that they were opposed to border guards being armed at the Cornwall border post because it is situated in a residential area at a major crossroad where a bus stop, recreational fields, a play area, and several small businesses are located. All of these places would be in harm's way if BSO's are to carry firearms.

At midnight on May 30, all border guards at the Cornwall border post left the post citing safety concerns after hundreds of Mohawks Hundreds had surrounded the post to protest the policy. The border was later completely closed. The Mohawk protesters state that allowing the border guards to carry firearms violates their sovereignty and increases the likelihood of violent confrontations. Ron Moran, the national president of the Customs and Immigration Union, stated that the border was too risky to allow officers to return and that officers were intimidated by some people in Akwesasne who were wearing scarves on their faces.

Temporary border opened

On June 2, Akwesasne Mohawks were allowed to cross the Seaway International Bridge, though the Canadian border post remained closed. The border remained closed until July 13, when a temporary border post was opened at the north end of the Seaway International Bridge. Bob Kilger
Bob Kilger
Robert “Bob” Kilger is a Canadian politician.Born in Cornwall, Ontario, Kilger is the former Liberal member of Parliament for the Cornwall region, representing the riding Stormont—Dundas—South Glengarry from 2000 to 2004, and Stormont—Dundas from 1988 to 2000...

, the mayor of Cornwall, praised the opening of the temporary border post and hopes for a more permanent resolution of the dispute. The CBSA stated that the border crossing will only reopen if the officers can work there "safely with all of the tools they need to do their job, including their duty firearm."

On June 17, the federal government said it will not reverse its decision to arm border guards. Instead, it is considering moving the border crossing on Cornwall Island closer to the town of Cornwall on the north shore of the Saint Lawrence Seaway
Saint Lawrence Seaway
The Saint Lawrence Seaway , , is the common name for a system of locks, canals and channels that permits ocean-going vessels to travel from the Atlantic Ocean to the North American Great Lakes, as far as Lake Superior. Legally it extends from Montreal to Lake Erie, including the Welland Canal...

. On the same day, a number of Cornwall businesses came to Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill
Parliament Hill , colloquially known as The Hill, is an area of Crown land on the southern banks of the Ottawa River in downtown Ottawa, Ontario. Its Gothic revival suite of buildingsthe parliament buildings serves as the home of the Parliament of Canada and contains a number of architectural...

 to ask the federal government to re-open the Cornwall Island border crossing. Closing the border crossing has caused businesses that rely on cross-border traffic to lose revenue.

On September 18, the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne accused the CBSA of seizing vehicles belonging to Mohawk residents who do not report to the new border post and required $1,000 to recover them. However, the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act and the Customs Act states that all travellers entering Canada from the United States are required to report directly to the CBSA temporary border crossing.

On September 19, around 12:30 pm ET
Eastern Time Zone
The Eastern Time Zone of the United States and Canada is a time zone that falls mostly along the east coast of North America. Its UTC time offset is −5 hrs during standard time and −4 hrs during daylight saving time...

, Cornwall police were called to the Seaway International Bridge. They shut down access to the bridge for the next five hours and diverted traffic away from the bridge. The closure was due to the Akwesasne Mohawks protesting the fines issued to members of the Mohawk community who did not report to the temporary border crossing.
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