U.S. border cuts off Canadian war vet from deliveries
An 85-year-old Canadian war veteran living on the Canada-U.S. border is again feeling pressure from American homeland security officials.
Nikolaj Pedersen's property is in New Brunswick, but the road that leads to his farm is on the U.S. side of the border in Maine.
Five years ago, Pedersen — who lives in Four Falls, about two hours north of Fredericton — couldn't get his mail or the newspaper delivered to his house because U.S. Customs and Border Protection wouldn't allow it. But as the years went by following the 2001 terrorist attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., the restrictions relaxed.
On Thursday, however, that all changed when Pedersen's daughter, Joan McCue, ran into a roadblock of five cars when she tried to visit her father.
"I said, 'I've been doing this for many years,' and they said, 'You are no longer allowed to do this. It is illegal, and you are subject to a $5,000 fine,' " McCue told CBC News.
RCMP Sgt. Derek Strong said this week's roadblock is a short-term joint Canada-U.S. anti-smuggling operation and isn't targeting the Pedersen family. Their home is the only Canadian property on the road.
"In fact, I would say Mr. Pedersen is about as low a risk as you can get as far as the RCMP or anybody else goes," Strong said.
But a U.S. border protection official told CBC News that the crackdown is the beginning of a long-term "enhanced" security effort on the border.
Special operations supervisor Ben Moreno said people trying to get to Pedersen's house must take a longer route that involves passing through a checkpoint.
"The advice to all visitors into the United States is to present themselves at a lawful port of entry and present their identification and information to the Customs and Border Protection officers to gain legal access into the United States," Moreno said.
The border patrol's main mission, according to its website, is "preventing terrorists and terrorists weapons, including weapons of mass destruction, from entering the United States."