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U.S. boater fined $1,000 for sneaking over border to meet Canadian girlfriend

A 49-year-old Bellingham, WA man, who crossed the U.S. border by boat to meet his girlfriend in Surrey, has been fined $1,000 under the federal Quarantine Act.
Richmond RCMP
File photo

A 49-year-old Bellingham, WA man, who crossed the U.S. border by boat to meet his girlfriend in Surrey, has been fined $1,000 under the federal Quarantine Act.

RCMP says the man failed to report his crossing into Canada and did not meet entry requirements under the current quarantine restrictions.

The Canada-U.S. border has been closed to all non-essential travel since March, due to COVID-19. That closure was recently extended to at least Oct. 21.

On Sept. 27, RCMP officers with the Federal Border Integrity ShipRider program were patrolling along the Canada-U.S. marine border in the Southern Gulf Islands region, when they came across a Seasport cabin cruiser out of Bellingham, anchored in the Crescent Beach Channel near Blackie Spit in South Surrey.

The Bellingham man was aboard the boat with his girlfriend, a 50-year-old woman from Surrey.

RCMP says the man left his home port that morning and picked up his girlfriend at Elgin Park Marina in Surrey.

However, the man failed to report to officials that he had crossed the marine border into Canada.

After consulting with the Canada Border Services Agency, police arrested the man under the Customs Act and seized his vessel for “failure to report inwards.”

A search of the man’s vessel confirmed the trip was “simply personal in nature,” and no other criminality was involved, according to RCMP.

The man was fined $1,000 for contravening the Quarantine Act. He was released without further charges.

However, he was also required to pay an additional $1,000 to get his boat back, and was required to leave Canada immediately.

Meanwhile, the Surrey woman was taken to the nearby Crescent Beach Marina, where she arranged a ride back to her vehicle.

Police say her plan was to self-isolate and get tested for COVID-19 if she develops any symptoms over the next 14 days.

RCMP says boaters found illegally in Canadian waters may face fines, seizure of their vessels and/or criminal charges. Further, failing to report in and other contraventions of the Customs Act may make foreign nationals inadmissible to Canada.