Visitors gather outdoors during the 2020 Stanstead/Weller fly-in, which was adapted to COVID-19 public-health measures with masks and additional spacing as pilots arrived throughout the morning. Courtesy George Weller.
Get local news like this every morning. Subscribe free below.
Stanstead farmer, pilot and longtime do-it-yourselfer George Weller says governments should reduce barriers at the Canada–U.S. border, protect longtime property owners from the effects of rising assessments and remain prepared to revise policies as scientific knowledge develops.
Weller shared his views during a wide-ranging interview at Weller Farm. The conversation began with the international visitors who have stayed at the property before moving into cross-border travel, taxation, animal-care regulations, scientific research and his own limited involvement in politics.
Weller is behind CANUSA Project Inc., an organization promoting a Schengen-style travel arrangement between Canada and the United States.
The proposal is inspired by Europe’s Schengen Area, where routine passport checks have generally been removed at the shared borders of participating countries. Temporary controls can still be introduced in some circumstances.
Weller wants Canada and the United States to explore a comparable arrangement that would allow eligible residents to cross the border without routinely stopping at customs.
He argues that such a system could preserve the sovereignty and separate trade policies of both countries while making everyday travel easier, particularly for people living in border communities.
Weller scheduled a July 19 potluck meeting at his aircraft hangar on Stage Road in Stanstead to discuss the idea with residents from both sides of the boundary.
The location is closely connected to his argument. Stanstead and Derby Line, Vt., form neighbouring communities divided by the international border. The Haskell Free Library and Opera House also straddles the boundary, with portions of the building located in each country.
Weller has promoted versions of the proposal for more than a decade.
According to his account, an earlier cross-border committee approached customs authorities and politicians about making travel between the two countries easier.
Customs officials said they could only enforce existing laws, he recalled, while politicians questioned whether there was enough public support to change those laws.
Weller concluded that pressure would first have to come from residents.
His thinking has also been influenced by visitors from Europe who have stayed at Weller Farm through Worldwide Opportunities on Organic Farms, commonly known as WWOOF.
He said many of those visitors are accustomed to travelling between European countries for shopping, entertainment, education and other activities without routinely passing through internal border checkpoints.
“It’s a big world, and if you can communicate, it really makes a big difference that people can understand each other more,” Weller said.
Weller also expressed concern about the effect rising property assessments can have on farmers and longtime residents.
He recently attended a community gathering in Vermont featuring a candidate for governor. Participants discussed property taxes and the pressure faced by people living near increasingly valuable waterfront and scenic properties.
Weller offered a hypothetical example involving an established farm near a lake or desirable view.
A wealthy buyer might purchase neighbouring land and construct a house worth $1 million or more, he said. That development and the changing local market could later affect the assessed value of surrounding properties, even though the farmer’s business and income had not changed.
In Weller’s example, a farm previously assessed at $200,000 might later be valued at $300,000 or $400,000.
The owner would appear wealthier on paper but would not necessarily have additional income available to pay a higher property tax bill.
“So over time, with all these reassessments, the poor person who was there for a long time gets priced out of the market,” Weller said.
He argued that rising costs can eventually make it difficult for people to remain on land they have owned or worked for years.
“So, for me, that is a system of subsidizing the wealthy, not taking care of everybody,” he said.
Weller emphasized that he did not object to people earning money through business, investments, art or other work.
“I fully applaud people who have earned a lot of money,” he said.
His concern was that rapid changes in surrounding property values can place pressure on residents whose land has increased in assessed value without producing any corresponding increase in income.
Another theme in Weller’s comments was the relationship between regulation, practical experience and scientific evidence.
While discussing animal care at the farm, he expressed frustration about the cost and availability of routine vaccinations for dogs and cats.
Weller said he had previously purchased and administered certain puppy vaccinations himself. He also described difficulties he encountered after vaccine supplies he had purchased were confiscated at the border.
He believes animal owners in parts of the United States have greater access to do-it-yourself vaccination options than owners in Canada.
Weller’s broader point was that a rule established in law should not automatically be treated as the only scientifically valid approach.
“It’s not necessarily what the science is; it’s just what the law is,” he said.
He argued that regulations should be reviewed as knowledge, technology and circumstances change.
The conversation then turned to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Weller recalled watching an online presentation from a university scientist that discussed airborne transmission. He said the experience reinforced his belief that governments and the public must be willing to adjust their understanding as evidence develops.
He described science as a continuing process rather than a source of permanent certainty.
“It says, this is the best information we have right now,” Weller said.
He argued that researchers must be allowed to keep testing findings and refining their conclusions.
“If you don’t let science continue, you’ll never have anything any better than that,” he said.
Weller’s comments combined skepticism about rigid government policies with support for research and immunization.
“You need to have current, continual scientific investigation, continual research,” he said.
His criticism was not that science should be rejected. Rather, he argued that policies should remain open to revision as stronger evidence becomes available.
Near the end of the interview, Weller said he had previously been an early member of the Canadian Party of Quebec.
He also said someone had once asked whether he would consider running for office.
He treated the subject with humour.
Weller was born in the United States and said he has been a Canadian citizen since 1970. He joked that his connections to both countries sometimes leave him imagining that he could tell governments on each side of the border to “straighten up.”
“But it gives me a chuckle anyway,” he said.
Don’t miss the next story that affects your community.
Join thousands of readers getting The Pulse every morning—plus breaking news alerts when it matters most.
If you value this kind of local journalism, consider supporting it.
Subscribe, share and like!
Share

No posts