Campobello council eyes constitutional questions of access

A question of constitutional right and responsibility will be posed to the new council of the rural community of Campobello by the island's ferry committee as a part of its initiative to solve the problem of the islanders' access to the Canadian mainland. The council will hear the presentation on Monday, February 28, at 7 p.m. at the Campobello school's multipurpose room.
Kathleen Case, chair of the committee, explains that the notion of islanders having the constitutional right and the Canadian government the constitutional responsibility to provide citizens free and unencumbered access to their own mainland soil was first raised by former MLA Eric Allaby a number of years ago. "Long before the committee was formed," Case adds. The committee looked the idea over and found that the constitutional challenge may fit in addressing the island's problem of access to the mainland.
The committee has been working on the question of island-to-mainland access for three years, ever since the completion of a health and wellness study pinpointed by citizen survey the top five concerns of islanders. One of these concerns was lack of access. Case says, "About 85% felt that pursuing year‑round ferry service" was a priority.
The volunteer‑based ferry committee then began its work. The study and the survey results are the voice of the islanders, Case explains, not the idea of a few individuals. "It's our responsibility to pursue that mandate." While the committee could pursue the constitutional challenge on its own, Case notes that the council, as elected representatives of the island, would be the more appropriate voice to bring the challenge forward.
"Really it's about access to goods and services to our own country. Prior to the bridge we had ferry service." Case explains how that ferry service connected the different islands to the mainland with comprehensive service. The bridge that now connects Campobello to Lubec "was not a challenge" until after 9/11, she says. "Currently access is at the discretion of the U.S. Customs." Case recognizes the responsibilities of that entity towards its own country's safety. "They have every right to do that for their citizens." But she notes, that discretion means that access to her own country's mainland depends on the decision of another country. "I do feel that it's a constitutional right to have free access to my country."
The problems raised by encumbered access run the gamut. For the island's teenagers it means that home games for school teams have not occurred for a number of years. Teams on the mainland have not been able to come over because of the time and complexity involved. "Home games are very important to that age group," Case says. A woman who purchases a kiwi in St. Stephen cannot bring it through the United States in order to get the fruit home to her family on the island. That simple question of access has far more serious consequences when it involves a patient who must travel to the mainland for chemotherapy treatment. "Nobody would be opposed to any service that would meet the need," Case says. "But a ferry, given that we're an island" makes the most sense to islanders.