A total of 3,000 foreign nationals have been denied entry into Canada from the U.S. since March. The agreement banning non-essential travel is set to expire May 21.
B.C. health officials are adamant the Canada-U.S. border should not reopen to visitors anytime soon as the clock ticks down on the agreement currently banning non-essential travel set to expire May 21.
Canadian and American officials are in ongoing talks over an expected increase in cross-border travel as economies begin to restart.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says traffic over the shared border is bound to increase as states and provinces reopen shuttered businesses, even if the Canada-U.S. ban on non-essential travel remains unchanged.
But those discussions are being met with growing calls from the provinces not to open up the flow of tourists across the line.
“Absolutely, we have concerns about opening the border,” said B.C. Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
Speaking to reporters during the province’s daily COVID-19 news briefing, she acknowledged there is room for leeway with some exceptions aside from tourists.
“We need to look at family reunification, for example; I know it has been very hard on some families who have members on either side of the border,” she said. “But broad reopening of the borders is not in our best interest in the coming weeks.”
It is our view that the [U.S.] border should not open to visitors at this time.– B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix
B.C. Health Minister Adrian Dix agreed that, for now, only essential travel should be allowed.
“It would make no sense to have visitors travelling either from Canada to the United States and returning — or to have visitors, not essential traffic, but visitors — coming from the United States to Canada,” he said.
Dix said he’ll continue appealing to his federal counterpart to keep it that way for the foreseeable future.
“The premier has also repeatedly made this point to the prime minister: it’s our view that the border should