Mr. Speaker, I have the honour of presenting a petition signed by over 100 residents of the town of Franklin. This petition is in addition to the one signed by 5,000 residents that I presented two weeks ago to the House calling on the Government of Canada to reconsider its decision to close the Franklin border crossing on April 1, 2011.
I should note that this decision was reached without notifying elected municipal officials and without consulting with businesses and residents or with their American neighbours. No public consultations or meetings were organized by the Canada Border Services Agency to discuss possible alternate solutions and explain this decision to municipal leaders and businesses that use this border crossing.
I wish to point out that this border crossing is important to our economy and tourism industry, to the safety of our residents and to the livelihood of the town of Franklin.