ST. CATHARINES, Ont. - Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day is calling on his U.S. counterpart to review border security policy after two incidents in which Canadian emergency workers en route to the U.S. in life-threatening situations were delayed by American customs officials.
In the first incident, Quebec firefighters racing to contain a blaze in upstate New York were held up at the border as the landmark building they were dispatched to save burned to the ground.
Last Monday, a man being rushed to Detroit for emergency heart surgery was delayed for a critical five minutes when the ambulance was stopped by U.S. customs officials.
"Canada and the U.S. have a great tradition and a history . . . of helping each other in times of need and times of crisis,'' Day said Monday at an unrelated event about crime prevention.
"We want to make sure that's maintained. That's why I have made sure that I've communicated, with some concern, to my counterpart in the United States (Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff) about this.''
A spokesperson with Public Safety Canada acknowledged Monday that Day's communication consisted of a letter to Chertoff that was dispatched last week.
But Homeland Security could not confirm that it had received the letter until Monday afternoon.
"We will respond shortly,'' said spokeswoman Laura Keehner.
"We of course are mindful we're working with our friends in Canada to increase legitimate cross-border trade and travel.''
She called the two recent incidents "rare,'' saying that thousands of emergency crossings go off without a hitch.
New U.S. security rules affecting travellers, known as the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative, will ease difficulties and wait times, she added.
Those rules will require passports from travellers entering the U.S. by land or sea as early as next summer. Air travellers entering the U.S. already need passports.
While Day said the U.S. shared his concern and believed the incidents were isolated ones, Ottawa wants to ensure that it is Washington's "policy to do all they can to make sure that incidents like this are avoided.''
"We want to maintain this proud history we have of helping one another's citizens in times of need,'' Day said.
On Nov. 11, volunteer firefighters from the town of Lacolle, Que., got the call around midnight that the landmark Anchorage Inn in Rouses Point, N.Y., was on fire.
The six-man team burst into action as they have numerous times in the past, thanks to the long-standing cross-border aid agreement between the two border communities.
This time, however, they were denied speedy passage.
The firefighters were delayed up to 15 minutes as they were grilled about their identification by a U.S. customs official. The inn, meanwhile, burned to the ground.
Last Monday, Rick Laporte, 49, was being rushed to Detroit's Henry Ford Hospital for an emergency angioplasty when the ambulance was held up at the Windsor-Detroit border.
The driver was asked by U.S. customs officials to exit the ambulance before they opened the back of the vehicle to confirm there was indeed a patient inside before allowing them to proceed.
Laporte is now recovering from surgery.
Laporte's girlfriend, Kat Lauzon, said the incident highlights the need for immediate action.
"Not one person should die because of that type of miscommunication, or whatever you want to call it,'' Lauzon told 麻豆影视. "We need something done about this.''
Day said that he's been having "discussions with Secretary of State Chertoff regularly on a broad range of issues and will continue to do so.''
"This specific one I brought to his attention, these particular incidents, because they are of some concern.''
