Help border-straddling First Nations move between Canada, U.S.: senators

OTTAWA – The Senate committee on Aboriginal Peoples wants the federal government to look at challenges faced by First Nations communities that straddle the Canada-U.S. border.

The committee has released a report entitled “Border Crossing Issues and the Jay Treaty” that details some of the logistical hurdles faced by residents of the Akwesasne reserve, which extends from Ontario and Quebec into the U.S.

The report says parts of the Canadian side can only be accessed via the U.S., frustrating residents with families or jobs on the opposite side of the border.

The Jay Treaty, signed in 1794 by Great Britain and the United States, was established to resolve issues arising from the independence of the U.S. in 1776 and was meant to allow aboriginal people to freely cross the newly created border.

The committee says the federal government has offered little help, and that the Canada Border Services Agency is in any event not in a position to provide a solution.

The Senate is recommending Indigenous Affairs Minister Carolyn Bennett appoint a special representative before the end of the year to look into possible remedies.