Yeah, it’s Tuesday already and every day life is grabbing me with its ice cold hand. And I mean ICE COLD. Had a long day with rain yesterday but today it’s so clear we can see people walking in the streets of Eastport a mile away across the water of the similarly ice cold Passamaquoddy Bay.   The plumber is due in 40 minutes (I wonder whether he makes that true) Then I have to leave to get to the Roosevelt park for a meeting. On the way I have to grab the mail, and finally I have to look after our trailer across the border. Last night was cold and the mud in our driveway has frozen rock-hard. So I’m worried about the trailer and the water lines. Don’t need another pipe problem. Normally a temp around 27F would not cause a freeze-up of our water inside the trailer, but one just never knows….  Something has happened at the border. While we locals were never asked to produce our passports at the Canadian Station, our passports are now scanned every time we cross. It’s not that they have forgotten our names or how we look. Nope. But new rules have been applied. U.S.-Canada rules. The Canadian system is now hooked into the U.S.-system. That means both border stations will now know how long we have been in the U.S. or vice versa in Canada. No more cheatin’ folks!!  Herring Cove, Campobello island, NB And I’d like to stress that the reciprocal rule is 183 days of stay in the U.S. for Canadians and vice versa for our American friends in Canada. That is 183 days in any consecutive 12 months. It’s not bound to the calendar year or to your health insurance. If you go and see your auntie in Hancock City, MI or uncle Harry in Crazy Town, NY for 3 days, these days will count towards your total stay in the U.S. If you happen to live near the border and go shopping for a carton of eggs (they are cheaper in the U.S.) and you are back in the big white north of Canada after 35minutes it does not count towards your 183 days. Why? Because the Feds don’t want to count minutes. It’s days or nothing. Got that? Good. There is something else though. If you have been a smart a…. and tried to tell the CBSA officers you been outside of Canada for 48hrs and feel you are now entitled to import an extended amount of …..you know what, then he can prove you wrong just by looking at his cute little computer screen. Like I said…no more cheatin’ pal! And by the way: 48hrs would reduce the amount of days you can stay in sunny Florida. Happy border crossing folks! And thanks for stopping by again! |
