As an update on the new Canadian rules for Americans fishing in their waters. Wednesday morning I headed for the St. Lawrence river and after launching called the CBSA phone number (888-226-7277) around 8 AM with my cell phone. Was greeted by a very pleasant young lady who said she was transferring my call to the local CBSA office as Lansdown, Ontario. After being on hold for 10 minutes I hung up and called the main CBSA number again. The pleasant young lady got a bit upset and said, "you must stay on hold and in the cue until an operator picks up the phone." Told her I was on hold over 10 minutes and if calls to Canada with American cell phones are considered roaming it could cost over a $1 per minute or more. She relented and said she would take my information this "one time only" but in the future I must wait on hold until an agent picks up the phone.
Basically what was needed was the boat registration numbers, my name, length and color of the boat, and where and how long was I going to be in Canadian waters. After that I was given a rather long registration number that was good for that day only and was told to write it down and keep it on board with me. If it were not were the long wait on hold it would have been quite easy.