There will soon be a change in the level of service at two border crossings here in southeastern Manitoba. The crossing on Highway #59 at Tolstoi will become fully bilingual while the crossing on Provincial Road 310 at South Junction will lose its bilingual status.

Luke Reimer of the Canada Border Services Agency explains why.

"Every ten years, the Government of Canada undergoes an exercise called the Official Languages Re-Application Exercise to update the linguistic obligations of federal offices and it is based on data from the most recent census. As a result of this review the Port of Tolstoi has been designated a bilingual port while South Junction will no longer be required to provide bilingual services. This change takes effect April 1st."

Reimer notes the Tolstoi crossing is now one of the busiest in Manitoba and serves many Francophone communities like St. Malo, St. Pierre and Ile des Chenes. More than 72,000 people crossed the border there last year.