Thank you very much for inviting me to appear today.
My colleagues and other stakeholders have provided quite a few figures, but there is an additional factor that should be considered: the human and social consequences. My presentation will focus less on numbers and be more comprehensive.
To begin with, I would like to talk about the social impact. In our case, quite a few families are living on both sides of the border. In Franklin, on the other side, there are just as many families with names like Bouchard, Pelletier and Rainville as there are on our side. They speak French on both sides of the border. And the same applies to English. There are relationships, and people have as many friends on one side as on the other.
There will also be an economic impact, particularly on jobs. Canadians cross the border to work in the United States, just as Americans come and work in Canada. We all agree that reduced hours will affect these jobs. A small border crossing facilitates local travel. People often talk about large ports of entry. As I see it, they operate more at the provincial level, whereas small border crossings basically provide local services, which stimulates our local economy and jobs.
On our side of the border, there is farming activity. A number of growers on the other side of the border buy a lot of feed from us. Here I'm referring to hay, grain, silage, and so on. The traffic going through our small border crossing is not identified as commercial traffic, but it occurs on a daily basis and it is very significant. There are also short stays. Cycling is something that is growing in popularity. We are even in the process of widening the bicycle path so that it will run through Franklin, around Lac Champlain and come back.
There is also a snowmobile track. At the same time, snowmobilers can only use it between 8:00 a.m. and noon, as opposed to 8:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. There are people going back and forth across the border. There is an arena in Highgate Springs and another one in Bedford. Young people on both sides are involved in sports. There are also restaurants on both sides of the border.
The Municipality of Saint-Armand includes Highway 235, which actually belongs to us. We are currently completing the third phase of a project involving that highway in which local residents will have invested some $500,000 in taxes by the time it's finished. In other words, we believe in the importance of that road for our local economy.
One very important point is mutual support. With Franklin County—and, based on what I've seen, that is the case all along the border—we have an agreement whereby, in order to have an adequate number of firefighters for major calls, we help out the Americans and they help us out. What does this have to do with our small border crossing? Well, on our side, volunteer firefighters are more available during the daytime, whereas on the other side, they are more available in the evening. We were saying earlier that a solution might have been found to ensure that volunteer firefighters could cross the border, but I still wonder how they will be able to do that. Often people use their own vehicle in order to go and assist the firefighters who are already on site. If they all used the truck, this could work, but the fact is that some always arrive on site later than the others. I don't see how we can possibly manage if there is no longer going to be anyone there.
On our side, there is a little less water availability close to the border. We have just completed the installation of a dry hydrant which will provide a water supply on both sides of the border. It is located on the border at Morse's Line.
Furthermore, gasoline and dangerous materials are shipped between Montreal and the United States exclusively via Highway 133 and U.S. 89. That border crossing would therefore be of strategic importance if there were to be an incident at the customs office or if the main office were closed. It is the only alternative route in the area.
I have been hearing people talk about distances of 15, 20, 25 or 30 kilometers, but no one has said anything about time. The fact is that we should not be calculating on the basis of the number of kilometers, but rather on the basis of the time needed. The additional distance may be 20 kilometers, but if you have to go through a main port of entry and wait for three hours, we are no longer talking about an extra 20 kilometers; we're talking about three hours of waiting time, which is not exactly the same thing. That also will affect our local economy, which depends on tourism, as well as the more vulnerable industries. If people are forced to wait that long, they simply won't come to our region.
Also, in our case, consideration should be given to new Highway 35, the Boston-Montreal connection which will be completed in 2015. As everyone knows, the Morse's Line port of entry serves to reduce some of the overflow, if you will. That crossing is used as a safety valve to speed up traffic flows, particularly in the local community.
There was some discussion of traffic flows earlier. I did a quick calculation to illustrate the current situation and put those numbers in perspective. At the main port of entry, there are a little more than one million cars coming through on a yearly basis, compared to a population of 6,000 in Quebec. At the small border crossing, some 26,000 travellers come through, compared to a population of 45,000 in the RCM of Brome-Missisquoi. Therefore, that small border crossing is serving 60% of the population, whereas the main port of entry is serving 18% of Quebeckers. I don't know how you calculate something like that.
There are 1,000 residents in Saint-Armand which, according to the figures, could mean that all of them go to the United States every two weeks. And yet, I am being told that this border crossing is unimportant. That raises questions in my mind.
As I was saying earlier, there are families and friends, English and French traditions, and a bilingual population on both sides of the border. On May 17, I attended a summit at the Montreal Stock Exchange Tower, where officials from the States of New York, and Vermont and the Province of Quebec underscored the linguistic tradition of using both French and English, which has taken root over time and constitutes an important legacy. That was one of the highlights of the meeting.
Furthermore, it is well known that Vermont and Quebec try to support each other in terms of tourism, given that we are somewhat far from either Montreal or Sherbrooke. We are in between the two, in a way. Therefore, we really have to retain anything that is likely to support our local economy.
In closing, I would just like to say that we can always talk about numbers, but I consider the small border crossings to be local points of service, as opposed to the main border crossings which I see as provincial points of service. So, we have to avoid confusing the two by bringing forward disproportionate numbers.
I can present a petition that has been signed by 3,000 people living on both sides of the border, who are anxious to stress the importance of this border crossing. A meeting was held which was attended by officials from both Quebec and Vermont to discuss all the economic and social factors associated with that little border. I have also sent a letter to the U.S. Congress, which has been signed by Senators Leahy and Sanders, as well as Congressman Welch, regarding the importance of this border crossing.
I am here for one reason: to tell you that, for a small municipality like Saint-Armand, it is critical for our survival and our future that this border crossing remain open.
Thank you.