Border guards were stationed at a temporary post at the base of the north span of the bridge between Cornwall and the United States Monday morning. (CBC)

The Canada Border Services Agency opened a temporary border crossing Monday in Cornwall, Ont., more than a month after a permanent outpost was shuttered because of a dispute with local Akwesasne Mohawks.

The CBSA shut down the crossing on the Mohawk territory that straddles Quebec, Ontario and the U.S. on June 1.

The border guards were scheduled to start carrying 9-mm handguns under a new federal policy. Instead, guards left their posts at midnight on June 1, citing safety concerns, after hundreds of Akwesasne Mohawks set up camp near the border to protest the gun policy.

The crossing, about 100 kilometres southeast of Ottawa, has been closed since.

The CBSA said in a Sunday statement it "has met several times with the Mohawk Council of Akwesasne and with other key stakeholders to discuss the feasibility of reopening the port of entry at Cornwall Island.

The new border crossing opened at 6 a.m. ET on Monday.

The makeshift post includes tents and trailers and is at the base of the north span of the Seaway International bridge over the St. Lawrence River.

'A good start'

Bob Kilger, mayor of Cornwall, called the opening of the border post "a good start." He called the outpost "rudimentary," adding that by the end of the week travellers will see something "more functional and more efficient."

He told CBC News he was hoping for a more permanent resolution of the dispute.

There is no word on when the crossing will open permanently, but the CBSA said it "will only reopen its facility when border services officers can work there safely with all of the tools they need to do their job, including their duty firearm."

The Mohawk protesters are angry about guards being allowed to carry guns because they say it violates their sovereignty and increases the likelihood of violent confrontations.

"It doesn't matter if [the guards are] here or at the Cornwall side of the bridge. It doesn't matter where," said Mohawk John Boots, speaking from Cornwall Island.

"They're so eager to pull the trigger, like the incident with Dudley George," he said, speaking of the aboriginal protester whom police shot to death during the 1995 Ipperwash standoff.