Area businesses and other interests are starting a campaign to convince the Canadian government not to permanently close its port of entry on Deer Island, which provided customs clearance for the ferry service from Eastport to Deer Island Point. The ferry has not run for the past two years, and East Coast Ferries of Deer Island, which operates the service, is not planning to run the service this year, as the ferry is being used on another run contracted through the provincial government, but would like to begin the run again next year. The loss of the ferry connection between Deer Island and Eastport, which has existed for 80 years, is having an impact on businesses on both sides of the border.
     As the Deer Island customs office exclusively processed traffic entering Canada from Eastport via the ferry and the service will not be running for three seasons, on May 11 the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) announced it would close the Deer Island port of entry (POE) indefinitely. According to CBSA Communications, indefinite closure means that CBSA "has permanently closed" the port of entry "and therefore publicly funded border services will no longer be provided at that specific location." In response to press inquiries, CBSA Communications states, "CBSA will engage Public Services and Procurement Canada to begin the process of divesting the Deer Island port of entry."
     CBSA Communications also states, "The ferry operator has been advised that should they wish to operate the ferry in the future, they can submit a request to reinstate the service on a cost-recovery basis. Cost recovery can be considered as an alternate means of providing service in locations where volumes and demands no longer warrant a staffed CBSA presence." The cost‑recovery reflects the total cost associated with providing CBSA services at a location where CBSA is not present or does not provide services on a regular basis. A client can request to enter into a cost‑recovery agreement with CBSA. While core services are publicly funded, when CBSA enters into an agreement to provide services on a cost-recovery basis, those services are funded by the client. Cost‑recovery fees are dependent on a number of factors, including service required, length of time to complete the service, number of officers required and the distance between the CBSA office providing the service to the location.
     East Coast Ferries is not sure at this point if the cost-recovery option would be economically feasible.

Ferry service wants to come back
     Velma Lord, co-owner of East Coast Ferries with her husband Stan, says this year should be the last year that the company's Fundy Trail, which had been used for the Deer Island/Eastport service, is on the Kennebecasis Island run on the Saint John River, under a contract with the provincial government. "One year turned into three years," says Lord of the company's decision to continue that run, but she notes that the government is expected to have its own vessel for the run next year.
"We're hoping 'indefinite' means that we can have the opportunity to work it out so we can come back. If we can work it out with customs, we plan to come back next year," she says.
     "Everyone on both sides is aware the ferry doesn't carry a lot of traffic, but it's still a help," she says of the Deer Island/Eastport ferry. The company also runs the Deer Island/Campobello ferry service, which has a higher volume of traffic. Lord says it was not really feasible for them to decline the provincial government's offer. "It was a business decision and a difficult one. We'd always been on that run. It's one of those connections."
     Joyce Stuart, chair of the West Isles Local Service District, says she understands why the company accepted the provincial government's offer for the Saint John River run. "They're running a private business, and if they have a better chance -- with a longer run and better income -- I can't blame them for taking it." She notes that the Kennebecasis run is from May to November, while the Eastport run was only from the end of June to early September. "People go in business to make money," Stuart says, adding, "They've run a good business to Eastport and to Campobello. If I was in business I'd do the same thing he [owner Stan Lord] did."
     Stuart adds, "I don't think it means a lot" in terms of tourism on the island, since much of the traffic that comes onto the island from Campobello or previously from Eastport "was just rushing to Butler's Point" to take the ferry to the mainland.
     However, Diane Bustin, manager of the 45th Parallel Motel and Restaurant in Fairhaven, believes the loss of the ferry service "definitely will have an impact" on island businesses, noting that the ferry has operated during the summer months for 80 years. "I've noticed a small dip in business" since the ferry stopped running, she notes. She points out that with the closing this year of the Pilgrim's Rest take-out, the 45th Parallel will be the only place to eat on Deer Island for the first time in 30 years.
Of the loss of the ferry, she says, "It's really sad." Noting that local people may use it more than tourists, she says it also is a loss of the cross-border connections that people in this area had. She recalls she would sometimes go to Calais and then stop in Eastport and have lunch before coming back to the island on the ferry. "It made my trip to the mainland pleasant."
     With cruise ships expected to start coming back to Eastport next year, she says that, with a ferry service, the passengers might be able to get on a bus to tour Deer Island. "I hope the government works something out and it gets back in play again."
     Meg Keay, owner of Port O' Call in Eastport and a partner in Fundy Acadia Regional Adventures, a digital bulletin board advertising company, notes that she works with businesses in Maine and New Brunswick. The company promotes the Downeast Acadia region in Maine and Charlotte County, New Brunswick, as a single region for tourism travellers. "It's affected many, many business on both sides of the border," she says of the lack of ferry service. "It's like removing a segment of highway in the middle of everything."
     Jeanne Peacock, president of the Eastport Area Chamber of Commerce, comments, "So many of our businesses were hurt by the lack of Canadian business coming on that ferry. The restaurants, the stores felt the lack the last two years, so we want it back."
     Leanne Silvaggio of East Coast Ferries notes that they "are ready to come back," as the contract for the Saint John River run ends after this year. She attended a meeting organized by the International Loop Committee on May 17 in Eastport, where it was decided to start a letter-writing campaign to CBSA and other Canadian government officials to not permanently close the Deer Island office. The letters will be from businesses and organizations including Downeast Acadia Regional Tourism (DART) and the Two-Nation Vacation effort sponsored by the Maine Office of Tourism and the New Brunswick Department of Tourism, Heritage and Culture.