Quebec residents frustrated with police checkpoints at Ontario-Quebec crossings near Pembroke
At the provincial border crossing between Ontario and Quebec near Pembroke, Ont., residents of the small border community of Chapeau say the police checkpoints are ineffective and disruptive.
"We’ve been told that essential services are something that we all have a right to," says Kiersten Smith, a resident of the small island community in Quebec.
"The fact that we’re an island lends itself to that we travel to Pembroke for everything. That’s where my banking is, my oil changes, my grocery, my pharmacy. I work in Ontario, my husband works in Ontario."
Smith says they are allowed to pass through the checkpoints into Ontario for work purposes or if they are picking up a prescription from a pharmacy, but not to pick up other items like groceries.
"They said that we can’t go over for our groceries anymore and that we have to go to the Quebec side," says Smith. "I’ve never shopped over here for my groceries, it’s a further grocery store."
Fellow Chapeau resident Marielle Lair has experienced the same hassle when trying to buy food every week.
"We do have a small grocery store in our area but it doesn’t have everything that we need," says Lair.
"When I have to go over to get my weekly grocery order, I have to lie and I have to say I’m that I’m going to pick up prescriptions," says Smith.
The crossing near Pembroke on Highway 148 is one of four Ontario-Quebec checkpoints being monitored by Ontario Provincial Police. The other three are Chenaux Road in Renfrew County, the John Street Bridge in Hawkesbury, and Highway 401 in Bainsville.
The OPP say the checkpoints are monitored 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and are expected to remain in place until at least June 16.
"We’re rural on this side, so our services really and truly are in Pembroke, Ont., and I speak for a majority of the residents on the island," says Smith. "We just don’t have the infrastructure or the services on this side to service our needs."
The frustration really sets in when the residents see vehicles with Ontario licence plates regularly entering Quebec. With the checkpoints originally set up to slow the spread of COVID-19, Lair says they are not working.
"People come over here because of cheap beer and cigarettes. As well as we have a lot of lakes and fishing opportunities for people. There’s no consistency and people with Ontario plates can come and go as they please and we can’t."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Asking rent prices up 9.3% across Canada, Ontario sees only decline: report
A new report says the average asking rent for a home in Canada in April was up 9.3 per cent compared with a year ago, while a slight month-over-month increase was also recorded for the first time since January.
Prince William says wife Kate is 'doing well'
Prince William said on Friday his wife Kate was 'doing well' in a rare public comment about the Princess of Wales as she undergoes preventative chemotherapy for cancer.
'I may have some nightmares:' Man survives being bitten by 2 sharks in Bahamas
A man who was bitten by two sharks in the Bahamas said Thursday he's 'thankful that I'm here' while sharing his story of survival.
Ontario coroner to investigate death of man who suffered cardiac arrest while waiting in ER
A provincial coroner will be investigating the death of 68-year-old David Lippert, who suffered a cardiac arrest while waiting in a crowded emergency room in Kitchener, Ont.
Magnitude 4.2 earthquake reported off Vancouver Island's west coast
A 4.2-magnitude earthquake was recorded west of Vancouver Island early Friday morning.
'Irate male' assaulted Newfoundland officers with block of cheese, police say
Police in Newfoundland say patrol officers were assaulted Thursday by a "very irate male" wielding a block of cheese.
Dashcam video shows terrifying near-miss on two-lane northern Ontario highway
There were some scary moments for several people on a northern Ontario highway caught on video Thursday after a chain reaction following a truck fire.
Average hourly wage in Canada now $34.95: StatCan
Average hourly wages among Canadian employees rose to $34.95 on a year-over-year basis in April, a 4.7 per cent increase, according to a Statistics Canada report released Friday morning.
Canadian Blood Services apologizes to LGBTQ2S+ community for discriminatory blood donation policy
Canada's longstanding blood donation policy that prevented sexually active men who have sex with men and some trans people from donating blood and plasma was harmful and discriminatory, Canadian Blood Services acknowledged on Friday, in issuing an apology to the LGBTQ2S+ community.