Make your border concerns known

By Meg Olson

Members of the Point Roberts Taxpayers’ Association who serve on an ad hoc border committee have produced border crossing tips to help travelers to the Point.

“As a small American border community, Point Roberts welcomes, and its economy depends on, the presence of Canadian property owners and visitors. The authors of Border Crossing Tips hope that the information contained therein will contribute to “smooth sailing” at the U.S. border by both Canadian and American travelers,” they stated in a press release announcing the publication of the tips on the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce web site.

Since 2011, the ad hoc Point Roberts Border Committee has met periodically with US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials (and occasionally with Canadian Border Services Agency counterparts) to discuss issues, problems, complaints and suggestions relating to the operation of the Point Roberts port of entry.

The committee is composed of representatives of several Point Roberts civic organizations, which strive to facilitate two-way communication of border-related information between CBP and the community, including Canadian part-time residents and visitors to the Point.

Currently, the organizations represented on the border committee are the Point Roberts Taxpayers’ Association, Point Roberts Registered Voters’ Association, Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce, and Point Roberts Emergency Preparedness group.

PRTA members have established the following email account for receipt of border-related concerns or suggestions from the public: PRBorderQA@gmail.com.

The Border Crossing Tips document can be found on the Point Robert Chamber of Commerce website: pointrobertschamberofcommerce.com.

The document has also been posted on Nextdoor Point Roberts: bit.ly/2s6FQan.