Judging by the number of people swarming the village this U.S. Thanksgiving weekend, the lineups at the chairlifts, and the frightened looks on the faces of trained but as yet untested resort staff, it’s shaping up to be another profitable season for Whistler.
Nobody knew how the events of Sept. 11 would effect B.C.’s tourism industry in the long term – Thanksgiving was the first test, and it seems we passed with flying colours. You could almost hear a collective sigh of relief from Whistler businesses as a steady stream of cars from Washington and the Lower Mainland turned down Village Gate Boulevard on Friday afternoon.
Stores wedged their doors open to allow people to move in and out faster. The Marketplace Parking lot was filled to capacity. People lining up for season passes and express cards at guest relations were given day tickets and told to come back later. There was an hour wait at many restaurants, and the lineups at night clubs spilled out into the village.
I rode a chairlift with some university students from Washington who were having such a good time that they were already planning to come back for Spring Break with their fraternity brothers – did I know where they could rent a house?
We’ve seen better conditions and earlier openings, but with the exception of Utah nobody south of the border could boast better conditions than Whistler. One friend of mine was told, "I could go to Mount Baker, but why not keep driving north and ski the best?"
The warm and fuzzy feeling no doubt faded as Whistler’s visitors were held up at U.S. Customs for five and a half hours on Sunday.
I understand the need for heightened security. I understand the financial and manpower limitations that customs officers on both sides of the border are facing.
I just don’t understand five hours.
That kind of delay could kill tourism in this province faster and more effectively than any terrorist could.
What happened? Were they caught by surprise? They didn’t notice the stream of cars heading north for the weekend, as they do every Thanksgiving weekend, and prepare ahead of time to be swamped on Sunday?
According to reports, the border stations were understaffed, and the processing was taking too long. That doesn’t sound like prudence. More like harassment – you can bet 99 per cent of these people inconvenienced wouldn’t even come close to fitting the profile of a terrorist.
In light of the economy and the ongoing trade war you have to wonder whether it was national security or politics that motivated the border delay.
American’s are being told to stay at home, to spend their money at home and help out the struggling economy – they’re even offering tax rebates to people who take their vacations at home!
The last thing the U.S. government wants is for Americans to spend their greenbacks abroad, and especially in Canada. Sept. 11 aside, we’re currently locked in a trade war with the U.S. over Canadian softwood lumber, and new battles are brewing over everything from steel to Hollywood productions.
Despite the fact that free trade lawyers say the U.S. tariffs on Canadian products won’t withstand the legal challenge – and despite the fact that the tariffs are hurting businesses on both sides of the border – the Bush government seems hellbent on bolstering U.S. industries at the expense of Canadian industries. That just might include the U.S. ski industry.
I realize I’m spinning a wild conspiracy theory here, but a five hour wait at customs goes beyond anything I’ve ever encountered.
Less than three weeks after Sept. 11, I had to wait an hour and a half at the Peace Arch border on a Friday afternoon. Only two out of the four border stations were open, and the facility was staffed by just three customs officers.
It’s a weekend at the second-busiest U.S./Canada border crossing, 17 days after the worst attack on U.S. soil since Pearl Harbour, and they have a measly three officers on duty?
A more rational theory might be the current situation in U.S. Customs and Immigration Service. While their responsibilities have increased since Sept. 11, their numbers and salaries have not.
Maybe customs exaggerated the delay to call attention to their own plight as angry motorists complain to customs, their elected members, the media, anyone who will listen.
And maybe it’s not an exaggeration at all. Maybe U.S. Customs really is so pathetically understaffed that they can’t handle a holiday rush – it’s just that nobody noticed it before because the past practice used to be to wave every car through that wasn’t a Volkswagen van riddled with Deadhead stickers.
If this is the case then the American Thanksgiving didn’t spell the beginning of a successful ski season, but the end.
The U.S. and Canadian customs agencies are discussing new technologies to speed up the border-crossing process, but it will be months or even years before they are feasible. In the meantime, it’s all about manpower, and while both governments are promising to increase numbers, they didn’t mean yesterday.
No American is going to keep driving to Whistler when they face a five hour wait at the border, no matter how good the skiing is. And I can’t really picture the current U.S. government giving additional funding to U.S. Customs and Immigration Department if it means helping Canada out.
— Andrew Mitchell
