Reducing hours of the Montana-Canadian ports will hurt Montana

I attended the Town Hall meetings at Plentywood to discuss hour reduction at the U.S. Port of Raymond-Regway Canadian Port of which is a 24-hour commercial port. The proposed hours of operation would be from 6 a.m. to midnight. Canada — Regway — remains 24-hour.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection had proposed the hour reduction in 2015, we resisted, they reconsidered and it has remained a 24-hour commercial port.

We can’t rail at CBP, they didn’t create the problem, so its up to “We the People” to work with Montana’s congressional delegation to

find a solution — and there are solutions.

Perhaps, the first step should be to look for efficiencies in CBP.

It was stated, Dec 7, 2011, when details of a parameter security agreement were revealed, on the heels of a meeting between Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama, that inefficiencies in CBP and CBSA was estimated at $16 billion.

It should be noted that when Prime Minister Stephen Harper and President Barack Obama signed the Parameter Security Agreement, February 2012, a Border Working Group was established to iron out

the details of the agreement. Among their charge, they were to identify ways to provide freer access at the border and to enhance commerce and trade.

Reducing the hours at the four Montana-Sakatechewan ports flies in the face of the working group’s objective.

I have a tough time accepting the fact that the U.S. is sending billions to foreign countries — to some that don’t even like us — yet we can’t take care of our own economy and people at home.

It needs to be noted that U.S. Highway 2 from the state line to Culbertson and north on Highway 16 thru Plentywood to the Port of Raymond is Montana’s segment of the Theodore Roosevelt Expressway — Rapid City to Williston, Culbertson and the Port of Raymond.

That corridor is one of three segments of the Ports to Plains Trade Corridor — Mexican Border to the Port of Raymond and Canada.

Theodore Roosevelt Expressway received a High Priority Corridor Designation by Congress, 2006.

Highway 2, from the state line to Culbertson, and Highway 16, from Culbertson to Port of Raymond, was recommended for twinning by two studies that were completed in 2008.

Federal Highway Administratino signed off because it saw the importance of Montana’s connectivity to Saskatch-ewan, one of the strongest economies in North America.

At issue, the decline of traffic at the Port of Raymond is attributed to the reluctance of the Montana Department of Transportation to upgrade Montana’s segment of the expressway, which has had a negative impact on northeast Montana’s economy while North Dakota and Saskatchewan have strong economies.

As a result, Saskatchewan has given up on Montana commerce and trade is skirting Montana for the most part. The province is upgrading Highway 39, through Wayburn and Estevan, to the Port of Portal in North Dakota.

In 2015, the traffic on Highway 39 had increased by 154% while, at the same time, decreasing at the Port of Raymond.

We met with our Canadian partners on occasion and they shared that Highway 6 from Regina to the Port of Raymond was a preferred route because its was a straight shot South from Regina to the US.

As for the Ports of Scobey, Opheim and Morgan, the proposed hour reduction will negatively impact the economy in the region.

Think about this — It shouldn’t be as much about the Customs and Border Protection numbers as the fact that “We are a community.” We rely on each other for business and social activity. I can’t think of anything more important than bringing students together for cross-border athletic and school events.

Another consideration should be given to the fact that our economies have always had swings, we have just gone through a down-turn in the economy, but, as an optimist, I’m bullish on the economy in what I term as “The Golden Economic Region of North America” — Alberta, Saskatchewan, North Dakota and Montana. The region is energy; it’s modern, productive agriculture and Tourism, with a yet-to-be-realized potential.

That being said, northern Montana communities received a kiss of death when Interstate 94 was completed in the mid ’70s, which diverted 40% of the traffic away from the Highway 2 Corridor.

Businesses closed and people left and the communities have never recovered due to a lack of an adequate Highway, which inhibits their ability to compete and attract business.

It’s important to know that 80% of business locates in or near communities with a four-lane highway or better.

Montana’s Highway 2 is one segment of the Great Northern Corridor — Seattle to Chicago and Rochester, New York — that serves some 40 million and enjoys a $2.5 trillion economy.

The problem is, Montana’s Highway 2 is the only segment — except for a short distance in Idaho — that is not four lanes. As a consequence, commerce and trade is skirting northern Montana for the most part of which impacts cross border travel.

I would be remiss if I didn’t espouse just how important our relationship is with Canada, our largest and friendliest trading partners — Montana’s economic future depends on it.

In conclusion, I attest that if there is a will to improve our regional economy, as politicians always promise, it would make sense to not reduce border hours but instead, increase them.

It is my hope that Gov. Steve Bullock will weigh in and lend support.

As well it’s not too late for the Legislature to weigh in, if there is any interest, I stand ready to provide more information.

Cordially

Bob Sivertsen

Havre