The city of StansteadQué., According to the American authorities, has unilaterally decided to “close the main Canadian access” to the Victorian style library which rides the border between the two countries.
For decades, Canadian visitors to the city had been able to cross the border In Line derbyVT., To enter the free library and opera of Haskell without having to cross a checkpoint or display a passport. This custom now ends, the city said in a press release.
“This closure compromises not only visitors’ access to Canadians to a historic symbol of cooperation and harmony between the two countries, but also weakens the spirit of cross -border collaboration which defines this emblematic location”, wrote the city, which added that “significant infrastructure adjustments” would be necessary to comply with the new rules.
Once inside the library, Canadian and American citizens mix freely through the border drawn on the ground – as long as they return to the right country thereafter.
A line crossing the library and the Haskell opera in Stanstead, that. On Thursday, May 16, 2019, marked the border between Canada and the United States. Built in 1901, the library that rides the international border of Stanstead, Quebec and Derby, Vermont, has long been a symbol of harmony between the two countries.
Paul Chiasson / Canadian Press
The library indicates on its Facebook page that Canadian customers must now display a library card to access the building from the American side. He adds that he opened a door on the Canadian side for visitors as well as those who forgot their cards.
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The library and city officials will hold a press conference alongside the Liberal MP Marie-Claude Bibeau later during the day to face the changes.
The library, built in 1901, was referenced by former American president Barack Obama during the visit of the former Minister Justin Trudeau at the White House as a place where Americans and Canadians meet, “where the border is literally through the ground”.
“A resident of one of these border cities said one day:” We are two different countries, but we are like a big city and people are still there for you “,” said Obama.
In February, the Boston Globe reported that the US Secretary of the Ministry of Internal Security, Kristi Noem, had visited the library and repeated President Donald Trump Les Railleries to make Canada on the 51st state while it was progressing on the other side of the line that marks the border.
According to the library website, Canadian visitors were allowed to enter the library by the main entrance on the American side. Although passports or visas were not necessary, library officials had warned that the American border patrol and the RCMP would monitor the movements and could ask to see the identification.
& Copy 2025 the Canadian press