07/08/2007: "A Canadian View Of Transborder Agreement"

We were recently contacted by Orcas islander Bea vonTobel, who suggested that a recent reading on CBC by Salt Spring author Arthur Black may be of interest to our readers. The content was aimed at a Canadian audience, but since the subject was the Transborder Island Agreement that was recently signed by the San Juan County Council and the Canadian Island Trust, we agreed it was timely. With permission from Mr. Black, here is his take on the agreement between SJC and the Trust:

BORDER

ig_Arthur_Black-1 (36k image)

By Arthur Black

The line that divides our country from the folks down south does a wonky little step dance once it reaches my neck of the woods – or water. For a little over 2,000 kilometres – from the Manitoba-Ontario boundary ‘til it hits the Pacific, the Canada/US border runs straighter than the part in Preston Manning’s hair. But after it passes Point Roberts the border dipsy doodles and zigs and zags, threading its way between the American San Juans and the Canadian Gulf Islands, ducking around the nether end of Vancouver Island until if finally scoots up and out the Strait of Juan de Fuca. As a result, I and a hundred and some-odd thousand other British Columbians actually live below the fabled 49th parallel.

Well, big deal. So does everybody in southern Ontario, lower Quebec, all of the Maritimes and most of Newfoundland. And anyway, the idea of a stable, fixed border between the San Juans and the Gulf Islands is kind of silly, given that it’s tidal water that we’re talking about.

Water that eddies and flows, goes up and goes down and in and out with indiscriminate disregard for border crossing checkpoints or customs declarations. The water that licks at the beaches of Salt Spring today might have spent the night caressing the contours of Orcas Island down in the San Juans. Passports and visas are deeply irrelevant to ocean currents, just as they are to the ling cod, salmon, orcas and otters that swim in same.

Given the commonality of this amorphous, shifting international line of demarcation, it’s probably a good thing that we have something called the Trans Border Island Agreement. This is an initiative created by concerned American islanders down there, and concerned Canadian islanders up here…to acknowledge and foster the natural ties we all share as islands in the Gulf. And this initiative is no Johnny Come Lately. The Transborder Island Agreement has been in existence for seven years.

Earlier this month a delegation of councilors from the American San Juans got together on Pender Island with their Canadian counterparts from the Islands Trust to renew and reaffirm their mutual interests.

We didn’t always enjoy such cross-border sweetness and light, you know. Back about a hundred and fifty years ago, British North America came within a hair’s breadth of going to war with those self-same San Juan islands, and by extension, with the USA.

Make that a hog’s breath. In 1859, both Britain and the US claimed sovereignty over the San Juans. And over San Juan Island in particular. When an American farmer shot a British pig that was rooting in his garden, armed forces on both sides bristled. Sixty-six soldiers from the US Ninth Infantry landed on San Juan island with orders to repel the British. Three British warships dropped anchor off the island to call their bluff.

Pretty soon there were 461 American soldiers with 14 cannon facing five British warships carrying more than 2,000 men. Ironically, the only shot that was ever fired was the one that offed the hog in the garden.

Which I guess augurs well for the Transborder Island Agreement. These islands have a history of peaceable resolution to fall back on. Which is more than can be said for the Koreas, the Vietnams….or the Irelands.

(Copyright 2007 and ff, Arthur Black: all rights reserved)