Canada is not yet prepared to confront the challenges inherent in reopening the shared border with the United States, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Wednesday, stopping short of confirming that a ban on non-essential travel will be extended to June 21.
The federal government has asked to extend the current ban, which is currently set to expire May 21, and a favourable response is expected from Washington B次元官网网址� but likely wonB次元官网网址檛 come for a few more days, a source familiar with the ongoing discussions, but not authorized to talk about them publicly, told The Canadian Press. B次元官网网址 of the request was first reported by the Globe and Mail.
B次元官网网址淩ight now, weB次元官网网址檙e making decisions for right now,B次元官网网址� Trudeau said when asked about the possibility of keeping the border closed even after June 21, regardless of the wishes of the U.S., which is dealing with the worst COVID-19 outbreak in the world.
B次元官网网址淥bviously, there are reflections on what next steps could be and might be in different situations and different progressions of COVID-19, but every step of the way in this unprecedented situation, weB次元官网网址檙e reacting to and responding to the realities we see now, and thatB次元官网网址檚 where we will stay focused.B次元官网网址�
One of those realities is also the starkest: more than a million active cases in the U.S. B次元官网网址� 42 per cent of the worldB次元官网网址檚 active caseload B次元官网网址� and a death toll that was closing in Wednesday on 83,000 people, growing at a rate of more than 1,000 fatalities a day.
Another is the level of unbridled political urgency, much of it emanating from the White House and Republican-led state capitols, to reopen shuttered businesses and ease restrictions on personal mobility, often in defiance of the Trump administrationB次元官网网址檚 own guidelines.
Not everyone is in a hurry. In New York, home to fully one-quarter of the U.S. COVID-19 cases, Gov. Andrew Cuomo still has his foot firmly on the brake. Reopenings there will be slow, with stringent monitoring of variables like hospital admissions and diagnostic and antibody testing to ensure the virus isnB次元官网网址檛 flaring back up.
B次元官网网址淲e must stay alert because we are still learning,B次元官网网址� Cuomo warned as he rattled off a list of initial beliefs about COVID-19 that proved false, including that antibodies promised immunity and that children were largely impervious.
B次元官网网址淲hat we thought we knew doesnB次元官网网址檛 always turn out to be true,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淭his virus has been ahead of us every step of the way in this country.B次元官网网址�
Businesses, regional officials and other stakeholders in and around border communities are beginning to realize that their traditional model of counting on cross-border traffic may be at an end, said Laurie Trautman, director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.
B次元官网网址淚 think thatB次元官网网址檚 just starting to kind of hit home,B次元官网网址� Trautman said. B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e no longer just sort of waiting out the end of this, but weB次元官网网址檙e actually going to need to start thinking in a whole new way.B次元官网网址�
She cited the example of Vancouver International Airport, once one of CanadaB次元官网网址檚 largest transborder travel hubs, which is now coming to terms with the fact that its annual passenger load was just cut in half, and likely wonB次元官网网址檛 recover even after travel restrictions are lifted.
B次元官网网址淭heyB次元官网网址檙e not weathering the storm, either. TheyB次元官网网址檙e completely shifting to a new model.B次元官网网址�
Montana, which abuts Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan, has seen a steady decline in cases in recent weeks and allowed its stay-home measures to expire two weeks ago. Ohio, which shares Lake Erie with Ontario, reopened retail stores Tuesday and has allowed certain industries to resume operations. Pennsylvania, too, has begun easing restrictions, primarily in the northern regions.
In Minnesota, which borders northwest Ontario and Manitoba and currently has a total caseload of nearly 13,000 and more than 630 deaths, Gov. Tim Walz was expected to address residents Wednesday as the stateB次元官网网址檚 current emergency declaration and stay-at-home restrictions approach their expiry dates.
But all of it is happening before a backdrop of dread.
Rick Bright B次元官网网址� ousted last month as head of the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority after clashing with the Trump administration over the presidentB次元官网网址檚 fondness for a now-discredited drug therapy B次元官网网址� is expected to warn Congress on Thursday that without a national strategy, the U.S. could be facing a prolonged pandemic that will lead to more sickness, death and B次元官网网址渢he darkest winter in modern history,B次元官网网址� CNN reported.
Kathryn Friedman, a law professor at the University at Buffalo and an expert on Canada-U.S. issues, said the conversation on both sides of the border among stakeholders, local and regional leaders and members of Congress has shifted.
B次元官网网址淧eople are starting to turn from stabilizing the situation to thinking about recovery, easing restrictions and opening the border,B次元官网网址� Friedman said.
For one thing, Canada and the U.S. will need to ensure their principles and regulations for lifting the restrictions were aligned, and it will be essential to ensure that regional and local leaders are in close contact.
B次元官网网址淚 think it would be very difficult if, for example, Canada had health and safety first as a guiding principle, and the U.S. was economic recovery B次元官网网址� I think that would be a little more challenging.B次元官网网址�
B.C. Premier John Horgan and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee are in touch regularly, she noted, while Cuomo and Ontario Premier Doug Ford are not.
B次元官网网址淭here are people who are very much advocating that New York and Quebec and Ontario at least share information on the stages and how theyB次元官网网址檙e opening up and any concerns that they might have.B次元官网网址�
Others have recommended adding a representative from FordB次元官网网址檚 office to the task force on reopening that Cuomo established last month with fellow governors from New Jersey, Delaware, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
James McCarten , The Canadian Press
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