by: lisa cordasco
canada’s decision to keep the border with the united states closed to non-essential travel, while allowing fully vaccinated canadians to avoid quarantine is unfair and is damaging relations with our closest neighbour, says a cross border business group.
on monday, the federal government lifted its quarantine requirement for fully vaccinated canadians, but did not open the u.s. border to non-essential travel
maryscott greenwood, ceo of the canadian american business council, called the announcement “unfair.”
“governments say they will base their decisions on science, yet the government of canada is not following what the science is saying, which is if you are fully vaccinated you are safe to travel, but the announcement today only applies to canadians, so unless you are a fully vaccinated canadian or an nhl hockey player, you are not allowed to travel into canada and that, to us, defies logic and is anathema to what the u.s.-canada relationship is all about,” said greenwood.
canada’s border was closed in march 2020 to non-canadians, with limited exemptions for foreign nationals entering for essential purposes such as truck drivers or health-care workers. canadians, permanent residents and people registered under the indian act, have always been allowed to return to canada but were required to quarantine at home for two weeks. in february, air travellers were required to start spending up to three days at the start of that quarantine at a government-approved hotel, until a covid-19 test came back negative.