Marine border reporting sites in Niagara will reopen this long weekend for boaters wanting to travel across the border.
Over 300 Canada Border Services Agency marine reporting sites will be reopening across Canada, including 255 sites in Ontario after shutting down during the pandemic.
Some of the sites reopening today include Smuggler’s Cove Marina, Whirlpool Jetboat Dock, Bertie Boating Club, Black Creek, Buffalo Canoe Club, Buffalo Yacht Club, the Niagara-On-The-Lake Sailing Club, and Queenston Sand Dock Public Ramp.
Niagara Falls Tory MP Tony Baldinelli called on the government to reopen sites across Niagara to make travel easier for boaters.
“The long-awaited reopening of these CBSA marine reporting sites is a huge win for our local recreational boating community. They deserve full credit for recently raising this issue to my attention, and patiently waiting on this Liberal-NDP Government for two long years, to finally reopen them. Earlier this week, Conservative colleagues and I pressed the federal government for these changes to happen before the Victoria Day May long weekend, which is the traditional start to our summer tourism season in Niagara. I am very pleased to see our efforts and advocacy worked, and the federal government finally came to their senses on this important issue and listened."
However he says border crossings continue to be plagued with delays and backlogs caused by the ArriveCan app.
"We badly need these backlogs cleared before our busy summer tourism season starts. Conservatives are calling on the federal government to immediately scrap the app in order to save the 2022 tourism season in Niagara and across Canada.”