Outfitters in northwestern Ontario concerned as U.S. guides fish in Canadian waters

A decades-old issue, involving fish, has caught the attention of Thunder Bay - Rainy River Member of Parliament Marcus Powlowski.

Currently, Canada's border regulations allow Americans to boat into Canadian waters, without clearing customs, as long as they do not anchor, moor, meet another vessel, or land on a Canadian shoreline.

The practice continually annoys some outfitters in the Fort Frances, Ont. area, where Americans can boat across Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods, and fish in Canadian waters.

"The law, as it presently is, allows Americans to come up to the Canadian side and fish. I'd think the thing we would want to consider is the possibility of changing the law," Powlowski told CBC News.

"I don't think there's an easy answer," he said, noting that there are other options the government could consider on the issue. Powlowski did not want to elaborate on what those options could be.

"It would be nice to have some sort of amicable agreement between the two countries. And, maybe some of it is more enforcement of the laws that presently exist."

Powloski said while rewriting the law is a possibility, the other option would be to step up border patrols on the water, and ensure visiting vessels are obeying the current rules and regulations.

He said he has written to Public Safety Minister Bill Blair on the issue.

Powlowski said he does understand the concerns of local lodge owners who see visitors from another country using guides from northern Minnesota, who end up fishing in Canadian waters. The matter becomes an economic one, along with an ecological one.

He said while the loss in revenue is easy to understand, there is also the concern about the possibility of overfishing the lakes shared by both Canada and the United States.