Ceremony celebrates Wild Horse extended hours

A group of international representatives braved the Montana spring weather Friday to attend a ceremony north of Havre celebrating a test of international trade and traffic.

The Wild Horse Border Committee held a ribbon-cutting Friday morning at the Port of Wild Horse to celebrate both sides of the border implementing extended summer hours at the port.

Havre mayor Tim Solomon and acting Medicine Hat, Alberta, Mayor John Hamill, co-chairs of the committee, led the event.

Government officials and legislators from both sides also were represented, with officials from both the U. S. Customs and Border Protection and the Canada Border Services Agency at the event. Representatives of Montana's U. S. lawmakers, Rep. Denny Rehberg and Sens. Max Baucus and Jon Tester, read statements.

Medicine Hat's member of Parliament, LaVar Payne, and Len Mitzel, the Cyprus-Medicine Hat member of the Legislative Assembly of Alberta, also made statements at the event.

The celebration came shortly after Canada announced that it would fully mirror the U. S. extension of summer hours, including for commercial traffic.

The port, which allows commercial traffic through on a permit-basis, normally is open for summer hours, 8 a. m. to 9 p. m., from May 15 through Sept. 30. The port's winter hours are 8 a. m. to 5 p. m.

This year the two governments are allowing an extension of the summer hours, running from March 1 through Oct. 31.

The Canadian government did not fully match the U. S. extension last fall, and originally was allowing only visitor traffic through after 5 p. m. this spring. That is normal procedure at those ports for Canada Border Services Agency.

After communications with activists and lawmakers from both sides of the border, CBSA agreed to allow the commercial traffic through in the later hours, matching the U. S. policy.

The pilot program, extensively advertised by the committee and the communities' chambers of commerce as well as Customs and Border Protection, is intended to assess the impact of extended hours on the port and if there is need for permanent increases in hours or changes in policy.

Advocates say upgrading the port, with a final goal of implementing 24-hour commercial status, will increase commercial traffic and benefit the economies on both sides of the border.