星报专讯/由于加元兑美元汇率攀升，加拿大人周末纷纷涌向美国购物，美加之间的和平桥昨日下午被购物者的车队塞得满满的。
尼亚加拉瀑布的海关周日忙于对付企图偷税的越境购物者和醉酒驾车者。
加拿大边境服务局发言人丝耶尔(Jean D’Amelio Swyer)说，约60到70辆装满购物者的巴士从下午3点起就堵在和平桥关口，再加上75辆载满水牛城比尔队(Buffalo Bills)球迷的巴士也要等待通关，每个购物车辆上都有45人，一时真是难以对付。丝耶尔说：“所有购物者都需要申报自己购买的物品，并按照购物金额缴税。人数实在太多。”
通关最长要等90分钟
丝耶尔说，旅客最长要等待90分钟才能通关，但有些购物者表示，他们等待的时间更长。
加拿大边境服务局为水牛城比尔队的巴士设置了快速程序，让他们通过商业通道通关，通常这一通道周末只处理货柜车，因此有很大容量处理这样的额外人数。
购物者在等待通关时则要待在车上。丝耶尔解释说，我们不能让人到处乱跑。她说，自加元兑美元汇率上周达到新高1加元兑换1.07美元后，通关人数近日激增。她建议购物者查看服务局网站，选择非周末时间前往美国购物。
丝耶尔还提醒购物者，如果赴美时间不足24小时，不会有任何免税额。
与此同时，警方表示，一名急躁的驾车者昨日拒绝在和平桥的海关亭旁停车，直接进入加拿大。尼亚加拉区的警方正在寻找他。
丝耶尔还说，只要比尔队有比赛，就会有人被控醉酒驾驶。她说，她的员工有权进行逮捕，常常会现场测试酒后驾车者。
Cross-border shoppers hit with lengthy delays
Buses clog Peace Bridge as loonie keeps rising
Nov 05, 2007 04:30 AM
Rachel De Lazzer
staff reporter
Shoppers returning to Canada after taking advantage of the high loonie faced lengthy delays at the Peace Bridge yesterday afternoon.
About 60 to 70 chartered shopping buses started clogging up the crossing as early as 3 p.m. in addition to 75 buses carrying fans from a Buffalo Bills game, said a Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson.
“All these buses have shoppers on them (who) have to declare their goods and go into the office and apply for applicable taxes on their purchases,” said Jean D’Amelio Swyer.
“It’s just sheer volume.”
Each shopping bus had about 45 people on it, she said.
Delays were 90 minutes at their longest, she said, although some shoppers complained of far longer delays.
Canada Border Services made advance arrangements to process the Buffalo Bills buses through its commercial operations, which usually handles truck traffic on weekdays and is much freer on weekends to handle extra loads like this.
Shoppers were required to remain on the buses while waiting.
“You can’t have people wandering everywhere,” said D’Amelio Swyer about why they had to stay put.
The soaring Canadian dollar has prompted a flood of cross-border shoppers in recent days.
“Since the dollar has progressively increased in value we’ve seen an increase,” said Swyer.
“Two months ago (this) would have been rare.”
Delays usually start around 3 p.m. on a Sunday, she said. She suggested shoppers check the agency’s website or pick a weekday for their expedition.
She also said shoppers should be aware they receive no personal exemptions on their purchases when they do same-day, cross-border shopping.
