Some Remote Area Border Crossing permits extended through 2025

After nearly three months of uncertainty, those with special permits to cross freely over select remote parts of the Canada-U.S. got a temporary reprieve. Some Remote Area Border Crossing (RABC) permits will remain valid until the end of 2025, said Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) in an email to CBC Tuesday. 

The program abruptly paused processing new and renewal applications in December 2024 while CBSA reviewed and updated its procedures.  As of Tuesday, all permits issued after September 1, 2023 will be valid until December 31, 2025, said the email. 

Some say they're happy the program has been extended, which allows for freer movement over the border and subsequent economic boosts to local businesses on both sides. Others say they worry a porous border provides little benefits to Canadians while increasing risks of crime and straining resources. 

"This is going to be really good news for those that already have an existing permit, not such great news for those that don't have it," said Tessier.

Extending existing permits, which usually expire after one year, will allow recreational trail users easier cross-border travel, said Adrian Tessier, president of Thunder Bay Adventure Trails Snowmobile Club.

The club has started grooming their trail that connects to Minnesota at Gunflint Lake in anticipation of Canadian and American snowmobilers being able to cross freely again, he said.

As crossing these parts of the border becomes easier, he thinks local businesses will see an economic boost from the increased snowmobiler traffic.

"They buy everything on the trail– food, lodging, fuel, repairs. They virtually carry nothing with them but clothes and a credit card," he said.

RABC creates more problems than it's worth: border-area business owner

Not everyone is happy to see the RABC extended. 

Many people who live and run businesses near the border would like to see the RABC cancelled entirely, said Scott Hamilton, a fishing guide who owns Jackfish Hammy's Guide Service in Rainy Lake, Ont. 

Hamilton said the negative consequences of allowing some to cross the border freely far outweigh the benefits. He said he thinks people coming into Canada should be required to enter at a regular, staffed border checkpoint for safety purposes. 

"Running over just to go for hamburgers and beer on your snowmobile is not something that we think is as important as having people running in and out of our country that aren't checking in," he said.

Hamilton said he was also concerned that allowing Americans free passage into remote parts of Canada was impacting the health of local economies and ecosystems on the Canadian side. 

In the summer, Hamilton said the lakes he guides on are often packed with American boats full of tourists, which Canadian operators have to compete against for revenue, fish and space. 

"You could stay on the Minnesota side and fish on the border waters, the Lake of the Woods and Rainy Lake, and not spend a dime in Canada other than a fishing license," he said. 

While he said he loves to see Americans coming to fish in Ontario, Hamilton said it would be more fair if the revenue from tourists enjoying Canadian resources went more toward Canadian businesses. 

He also said he was concerned about over fishing: while anyone fishing in Ontario is subject to the limits of their license, there is no limit on the amount of licenses distributed in any given area. If put under enough strain, the area's prize populations of walleye, bass, northern pike and muskie could dwindle or disappear. 

"Those fish in Rainy Lake are just as much your fish as mine, right? And if they disappear, what do we got?"