Delta police say fence put up to stop inadvertent crossings to U.S.

A chain-link fence put up at a popular Delta park that borders the American town of Point Roberts is drawing criticism from both sides.

The fence in Monument Park effectively cuts off Point Roberts from its only land connection, but a Delta city councillor tells 1130 NewsRadio that its purpose is not about border security but public safety.

Coun. Daniel Boisvert says it comes after a review by the Delta Police Department into a tragic incident where a senior went missing and was found dead on the other side of the border in 2023. But he says the city council wasn’t involved in the move, and he has reservations about it.

“If there was a lot of criminal activity here, if there were lots of examples of human smuggling or drugs or crime that were happening here, I could certainly see a reason that border services would want to erect a barricade for that reason. But that’s not the case here,” said Boisvert.

Brian Calder, a former president of the Point Roberts Chamber of Commerce, says people have moved relatively freely for decades between Delta and Point Roberts.

He says Delta has no place putting up boundaries between two countries.

“It’s a mistake. It’s accomplishing nothing but hardships for the seniors and their families. And it’s serving, other than that, no useful purpose whatsoever,” said Calder.

Calder points out there are still routes between the two on the other side of the community at Boundary Bay.

“What’s their next step? They’re going to run a chain link fence in the ocean over here?”

DPD Acting Insp. James Sandberg says the barrier is “not insurmountable,” but will achieve law enforcement’s goal of preventing unintentional crossings.

He says the missing senior likely didn’t know he was entering the U.S. before he was found dead in Point Roberts.

“We worked collectively with our partners south of the border during this missing person investigation, but there are limitations that the border created in this instance,” Sandberg explained.

“From that review, one of the items that had been identified was a recommendation to install a barrier at the end of English Bluff Road that reduces the likelihood of individuals to cross inadvertently.”

Five blocks east of the park, Sandberg says, is a port of entry where residents can still enter legally and intentionally.