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The explanation: With vaccination rates soaring in both countries, Canadian and US lawmakers, business leaders, and families separated from their loved ones for more than a year have urged Trudeau and President Joe Biden to begin easing restrictions.
Trudeau said the decision to keep borders closed for another month for foreign travelers, including Americans, is largely due to government concerns that fully vaccinated individuals may still be able to transmit Covid-19. He said Canada had not yet reached a high enough threshold for second-dose vaccination.
“Even a fully vaccinated person can transmit Covid-19 to someone who has not been vaccinated,” Trudeau said, referring to guidance driving Canada’s “gradual” approach to reopening.
Trudeau reiterated the need for Canada to reach its vaccination targets before it begins removing restrictions. He wants at least 75 percent of the population to get their first dose of the Covid vaccine and 20 percent to be fully vaccinated.
Frustration: The decision sparked a swift rejection from those calling for the door to be reopened.
“There’s no other way to say it: Another month’s delay is bullshit,” Representative Brian Higgins (DN.Y.), the congressional co-chair of the Northern Frontier Bloc, wrote on Twitter later Friday.
Higgins and Bill Huizinga (R-Michigan), two of the most vocal lawmakers pushing for an easing of border measures, issued a joint statement later Friday condemning the two governments’ approach to an issue they say affects millions of people. on both sides.
“The lack of transparency surrounding these negotiations is detrimental to our constituents and to the millions of residents on both sides of the border waiting to see their loved ones, visit their properties and renew business ties,” the letter from Higgins and Huizinga said. Both serve as co-chairs of the Canada-US Parliamentary Group. “While the arrival of vaccines in record time has been a recent marvel, the inability of the US and Canadian governments to reach agreement on easing border restrictions or simply unacceptable harmonization of additional essential traveler classes.”
Goldie Haider, chair of the Canadian Business Council, said on Friday that the two countries missed an opportunity to make adjustments to the border agreement to recognize the growing number of people fully vaccinated against the virus.
“Canadians need a well-defined plan to safely reopen borders so that friends and families can be reunited and businesses can welcome travelers,” Haider said in a statement.
Border agreement: Land crossings between Canada and the United States have been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020, when public health measures were imposed to help prevent the spread of Covid-19.
The two countries renewed a monthly agreement to keep the restrictions in place – the latest agreement was due to expire on Monday.
Last week, Canada indicated that it would begin easing quarantine requirements during the first week of July for the return of Canadians, permanent residents and other people allowed into the country. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Friday on Twitter that more details about the changes will be announced on Monday.
Part of the backstory: The delays have fueled fears that decision makers are being guided more by politics than science.
Provincial Premiers such as Ontario’s Doug Ford have urged the Trudeau government to maintain strict border measures, while recent public opinion polls have indicated that many Canadians want border restrictions to continue through the end of the summer.
The next step: Trudeau said Friday that in the coming weeks, Canadians returning to the country will be able to upload proof of their vaccination records to an app run by the federal government.
In the fall, the prime minister said, Ottawa and counties are also working on national certification of vaccination status that countries around the world will accept.
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