The Canadian government recently streamlined its reporting requirements for private boaters who do not land in Canada. For the past five years, boaters who only crossed into Canadian waters without landing were required to report to the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) and might be told that they had to go to Saint John to report. Now boaters entering Canadian waters only have to report if they are landing, mooring, anchoring or transferring any goods or people.
     "I think this is reasonable," says Dennis Turner of Perry. He says that since the Canadian policy changed in 2012 he always has been calling in to report when he crossed into Canadian waters. When he called in July, though, he was told he did not have to report in if he was only crossing into Canadian waters and not landing. "If you don't touch, don't call" is Turner's understanding of the new policy.
     "It's a good thing, getting back to what was always done, especially when you're in the St. Croix River in a canoe," he says. Under the previous requirements, if he was canoeing down the river he was supposed to report in when the canoe crossed the boundary in the middle of the river. Turner also says directions would change based on the CBSA officer on duty, with some wanting him to call in when he entered Canadian waters and others wanting him to call beforehand. One officer told him to proceed to Saint John to report. "A canoe can't paddle to Saint John," Turner observes.
     Of how living along the U.S./Canadian border used to be, Turner recalls how many boats from Deer Island, Campobello and Grand Manan would come across the border to Eastport, both to bring in fish for the sardine factories and fish scales for the pearl essence plants and for the boatmen and their families to shop. Boats were the means of transportation for many, and the wharves would be lined with the islanders' vessels. "They don't come like they used to," recalls Turner. "They all used to come on Saturdays," tying up to Wadsworth's wharf and going shopping.
     Concerning the tightening of the border, particularly following 9/11, Turner says, "I have a pile of friends in Deer Island and places who don't come to Eastport. They don't want to deal with it. People are kind of afraid of the border today."
     He adds, "They lost the fleet of boats, too," that used to handline for cod, pollock and haddock, which have mostly disappeared. "When the handline boats were lost, the transportation was lost."
     "We'll never get back what we had in our youth. Those days are gone." However, he would like to encourage the islanders to come back to Eastport. "They're certainly welcome."

Reporting requirements outlined
     According to Allan Donovan, communications officer, Atlantic Region, Canada Border Services Agency, the following private boaters no longer need to report to CBSA when entering Canadian waters: visitors to Canada who do not land on Canadian soil and do not anchor, moor or make contact with another conveyance while in Canadian waters, and do not embark or disembark people or goods in Canada; and returning Canadians who did not land outside Canada and did not anchor, moor or make contact with another conveyance, and did not embark or disembark any people or goods while outside Canada.
     Private boaters who do not fall under one of these exemptions continue to have an obligation to report their arrival to the CBSA at a designated reporting site when entering Canadian waters.
     "These exemptions follow recent legislation which streamlines reporting requirements for persons on board conveyances that move into and out of Canadian waters without landing, anchoring, mooring or exchanging any goods or people," Donovan states, adding, "CBSA officers and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) will maintain the right to examine persons, their goods and the conveyance."
     Donovan states, "By more closely aligning Canada's reporting processes with the United States, we are streamlining the movement of low‑risk travellers and goods in a manner which respects our commitment to ensure the safety and integrity of Canada's borders."

Passage rights still disputed
     While Canadian reporting requirements have been relaxed, the issue of passage rights of U.S. vessels to reach U.S. waters through Head Harbour Passage in Canada is still in dispute. The Canadian government has maintained that the waters of Head Harbour Passage are internal and sovereign Canadian waters through which it has the right to control navigation, but the U.S. government asserts that the passage is used for international navigation and is subject to the right of non‑suspendable innocent passage, since it is a territorial sea. In November 2003, Canada adopted the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which the U.S. believes requires that Canada give any ship the right of innocent passage through the strait.
     However, John Babcock, spokesman for Global Affairs Canada, states, "The waters of Head Harbour Passage are internal waters of Canada and are therefore subject to the control and regulation of the government of Canada."
     The issue came to a head both during the debate over three proposed LNG terminals in Maine on Passamaquoddy Bay and during the dispute over the Pittston oil refinery in Eastport in the 1970s and '80s. In 1982, Canada issued regulations limiting the amount of oil that could be transported through passage, and in 2007 the Canadian government stated it would prohibit passage of LNG tankers "through the environmentally sensitive and navigationally challenging marine and coastal areas of the sovereign Canadian waters of Head Harbour Passage."
     The dispute, though, has not affected ships transiting through Head Harbour Passage to the Port of Eastport, with the ships reporting in to Fundy Traffic in Saint John and clearing through a ship reporting base in Nova Scotia.

How to report
     For boaters who do have to report when they cross into Canadian waters, they must go directly to a Telephone Reporting Site‑Marine (TRS/M) and follow the instructions posted on location to contact the CBSA Telephone Reporting Centre (TRC) at 1‑888‑226‑7277 and request clearance to enter Canada. Only the owner/operator may leave the boat to place the call to the TRC. Everyone else must remain onboard until the CBSA gives authorization.
     Private boaters can also report directly in‑person at one of 10 Direct Reporting Sites for Marine Private Vessels (DRS/M), which are CBSA staffed marine ports of entry. The only ones in New Brunswick are in Fosterville and St. Leonard.
     When boaters contact the TRC, they will be asked about their trip, passengers and whether they have any goods to declare. The owner/operator of the boat must collect the information from each passenger onboard and provide it to the TRC. A CBSA officer at the TRC will determine whether further verification or examination is needed. If further verification is not needed, the officer will provide a report number. If a secondary inspection is necessary, the officer will advise boaters to remain at the TRS/M or go to one if they are reporting from the water, and to ensure that all goods and passengers remain onboard.
     For more information on private boat reporting requirements visit <www.cbsa‑asfc.gc.ca/travel‑voyage/pb‑pp‑eng.html>.