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Vermonters decry plan to limit Canadian access to border-straddling Haskell Library
U.S. Customs and Border Protection says it will begin to restrict Canadians’ access to a library that straddles the international border due to "a continued rise in illicit cross border activity."
The front entrance is in Derby Line, Vermont, but for 121 years, Canadians have enjoyed free access to the library using the front door without having to go through customs.
Canadian officials and representatives of the library decried the decision Friday, and residents of both communities gathered outside the library to express their dismay.
“I’m embarrassed,” said Penny Thomas of Newport, through tears. “This has been an institution for decades and it deserves to be the way it has been. We are being inhospitable … We are treating our neighbors in an unconscionable way, and I’m against it.”
David van Gelder has been attending performances at the opera house for 25 years.
“Everybody I know is very upset with what’s happening,” he said. “Though they may have voted the way they did … there’s a little bit of hesitation now.”
Other people waved to their neighbors across the border. Americans called “We love you, Canada!” as Canadians called back, “We love you, too!”
Speaking at the press conference, Stanstead Mayor Jody Stone enumerated the facilities and resources the two towns share, including a hockey arena, pickleball courts, a sewer treatment facility and their water source.
"We have too many reasons to cherish our relationship, and it's not one man that will change that," Stone said.
Still, he urged Americans to stand up for progress and for good relations between the two countries. He said the shared access to the library has been a symbol of goodwill between Canada and the United States for more than a century.
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Until October, only Canadian library members and staff will be able to access the library through the front door, Customs and Border Protection said. Other Canadians will have to use the back door, which is now an emergency exit.
Starting in October, all Canadian citizens will have to enter the library from Canadian soil, or go through the nearby port of entry to reach the front door on the U.S. side.
Speaking Friday, Haskell Board of Directors President Sylvie Boudreau said upgrading the back entrance to be wheelchair accessible will cost more than $100,000.
The library will also need to build a new parking lot and sidewalk.
The library and opera house does not have the funding to make it happen, and has launched a GoFundMe to cover the expenses.
However, for now, she promised Canadian patrons the organization is committed to serving them as it always has.
"Inside the library, it's business as usual," Boudreau said.
This story is a production of the New England News Collaborative. It was originally published by Vermont Public.