{"id":249319,"date":"2020-03-20T19:48:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-20T23:48:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=249319"},"modified":"2020-03-20T19:48:59","modified_gmt":"2020-03-20T23:48:59","slug":"anxiety-high-as-canada-u-s-prepare-to-turn-away-casual-travellers-at-midnight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2020\/03\/20\/anxiety-high-as-canada-u-s-prepare-to-turn-away-casual-travellers-at-midnight\/","title":{"rendered":"Anxiety high as Canada, U.S. prepare to turn away casual travellers at midnight"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The two countries spent days negotiating a mutual ban on recreational travel without restricting the flow of two-way trade and commerce, which are widely considered critical to the economic \u2014 and in some cases physical \u2014 health of people on both sides of the border. (Shutterstock photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 New restrictions in effect at midnight Friday along Canada’s shared border with the United States focus more on blocking tourists and bargain-hunters than on clearing the way for so-called \u201cessential\u201d travel such as truckers hauling freight, health professionals and others who live on one side and work on the other.<\/p>\n

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland on described it as a \u201cnegative-list approach\u201d \u2014 identifying travellers who should not be allowed to cross, rather than those who should \u2014 as she urged Canadians and Americans alike to take a breath and give the new bilateral agreement a chance to take effect.<\/p>\n

Freeland pleaded for \u201cpatience and understanding\u201d as she acknowledged that the government’s agreement with the U.S. has been rushed into place, given the life-threatening urgency required in curbing the spread of COVID-19.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are extraordinary times,\u201d she told a news conference in Ottawa, describing the pace of federal action now as \u201cneither possible nor advisable\u201d under normal circumstances as officials make public announcements about their plans, then \u201cfill in the details afterwards.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a global pandemic, so we need to act with agility and alacrity,\u201d Freeland said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think people will agree: better to act with speed than to wait for the perfection, which could mean that our country’s response to this pandemic could be delayed \u2014 with truly fatal consequences.\u201d<\/p>\n

The two countries spent days negotiating a mutual ban on recreational travel without restricting the flow of two-way trade and commerce, which are widely considered critical to the economic \u2014 and in some cases physical \u2014 health of people on both sides of the border.<\/p>\n

Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said truckers, nurses and others being allowed over the border are being encouraged to take all the necessary precautions against being exposed to the novel coronavirus, which include extensive hand-washing, steering clear of groups of people and monitoring for symptoms.<\/p>\n

In Washington, President Donald Trump, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Chad Wolf, the acting homeland-security secretary, detailed the U.S. government’s plans to secure both the northern and southern borders, including by sending would-be asylum seekers back to their countries of origin. Canada is now doing the same, just 24 hours after saying so-called \u201cirregular\u201d border-crossers would be quarantined north of the border.<\/p>\n

The sombre, businesslike tone of Friday’s briefings in Ottawa stood in stark contrast to the overheated display at the White House, where Trump appeared to contradict the country’s foremost expert on infectious diseases about the effectiveness of certain medications and picked a fight with one reporter who accused him of giving people a false sense of security.<\/p>\n

\u201cI say that you’re a terrible reporter. That’s what I say,\u201d Trump hissed at NBC’s Peter Alexander at one point. \u201cI think that’s a very nasty question and I think it’s a very bad signal that you’re putting out to the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Len Saunders, a U.S.-based immigration lawyer in Blaine, Wash., texted a photo of himself at his new office: a park bench in Peace Arch Park, a sort of neutral zone at the border with B.C. where he can meet with clients who live on the Canadian side without either party needing to cross.<\/p>\n

Almost all of the traffic this week has been northbound, Saunders noted \u2014 most likely Canadian snowbirds heeding the call home or leaving for fear of their travel insurance being cancelled. \u201cThere’s literally a steady flow of RVs going north.\u201d<\/p>\n

Businesses that depend on being able to get into the U.S. are still anxious about the unknowns, said Mark Agnew, the senior director of international policy for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have never had just the sheer volume of emails, phone calls, text messages from members, flagging concerns,\u201d Agnew said. The chamber is urging both governments to keep a close eye on operations at the border to ensure bottlenecks are kept to a minimum, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe contours are there, but there’s still some uncertainty about how it then gets applied in practice … there is going to be an element of probably getting it wrong along the way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of particular concern, Agnew said, are service providers \u2014 particularly technicians who keep high-tech health equipment in working order, as well as business executives who can’t do everything over the internet and rail and shipping personnel who often have to \u201creposition\u201d by travelling by car over the border to operate a train or a vessel.<\/p>\n

Students who hold valid visas, temporary foreign workers and anyone with valid work responsibilities is allowed to cross, Freeland said.<\/p>\n

Pompeo said the border restrictions will be in place for the next 30 days, subject to change depending on the state of the pandemic, and do not apply to those travelling \u201cfor work or other essential purposes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThis will last as long as it has to, to protect the American people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That’s probably bad news for local businesses like those in Blaine that are dependent on cross-border business \u2014 gas stations, grocery stores and services that provide U.S. shipping addresses for Canadian online shoppers, to name just a few.<\/p>\n

\u201cBlaine has basically become a ghost town,\u201d Saunders said. The popular Edaleen Dairy ice cream shop, for instance, has lines out the door.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere’s nobody. It’s not like they have less customers, they have no customers. So you can see a lot of the local businesses will go out of business.\u201d<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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