Kim Zavesky is desperate to return to her home in Golden, B.C.
After retiring last year, she and her husband — both Americans — sold their house in Chandler, Ariz., and moved most of their belongings to their second home in Golden, in southeastern British Columbia.
The plan was to rent a place in the United States for the first part of the year and spend the rest of the year in Golden. But then the Canada-U.S. border closed to non-essential traffic in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, blocking the couple from accessing their Canadian property.
“All my stuff is there, all my documents except for my passport,” Zavesky said. “It’s like not being able to go home.”
Adding to her frustration is the fact that, despite the border closure, Canadians can still fly to the U.S for leisure travel. That includes snowbirds who are currently flocking to the Sunbelt states.
“The unfairness of it really bothers me,” Zavesky said. “Whatever the rules are, I just feel like it should be the same.”
Americans Kim Zavesky and her husband, Paul, are prohibited from entering Canada to visit their home in Golden, B.C., under policies the federal government put in place after the Canada-U.S. border closed to non-essential traffic in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. (Submitted by Kim Zavesky)
Although Canada and the U.S. agreed to close their shared border to non-essential travel during the pandemic, they each crafted their own policies. That has sparked some confusion and frustration because the rules vary — depending on which border you’re crossing.
Political scientist Don Abelson said the different rules between the two countries isn’t surprising.
“You’re still dealing with two sovereign countries who have jurisdiction over their own border, and they certainly have jurisdiction and responsibility for developing their own policies,” said Abelson, a professor at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S.
Snowbirds OK to fly south
The Canada-U.S. land border is set to stay closed until Dec. 21, and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau implied on Tuesday that the date could be extended.
“The [COVID-19] situation in the United States continues to be extremely serious,” he said on CBC Radio’s The Current.
Since the start of the border closure, the Canadian government has barred Americans from entering for non-essential travel by all modes of transport.
But while the U.S. has barred Canadian travellers from crossing by land, it still allows them to fly into the country. The U.S. has declined to tell CBC News why it made this decision, but in general, its air travel restrictions are less stringent than Canada’s.
“No way in hell we’re staying here,” said Claudine Durand of Lachine, Que.
Snowbirds Claudine Durand and her husband, Yvon Laramée, of Lachine, Que., travel to Florida each winter for two months. Durand says they’re still going this year, despite the pandemic. (Submitted by Claudine Durand)
If the land border is still closed when Durand and her husband head to Florida in late January, they plan to use a new service offered by Transport KMC. The Quebec company flies snowbirds — and transports their vehicles — across the Quebec-New York border.
“Basically, it solves our problem because we want to take our RV down,” Durand said, adding that she plans to take all COVID-19 safety precautions while in Florida.
Those who do must quarantine for 14 days upon their return to Canada.
Family exemptions
Canada and the U.S. also have different rules for family member exemptions.
Following protests from families separated by the border shutdown, the Canadian government loosened its travel restrictions in June to allow Americans with certain immediate family in Canada to enter the country for any reason by both land and air.
In October, the government further widened the exemptions to include additional family members, as well as couples who’ve been together for at least a year.
Conversely, the U.S. offers no exemptions for Canadians crossing into the country by land to visit family, unless they’re tending to a sick relative.
U.S. immigration lawyer Len Saunders suggests the U.S. hasn’t bothered to loosen the restrictions as the pandemic drags on because separated family members can still fly to the country.
“There’s a huge alternative,” said Saunders, who’s based in Blaine, Wash. “There’s no restrictions on flying.”
WATCH | Some Canadians decide to spend winter in U.S. amid COVID-19:
The COVID-19 pandemic isn’t stopping some Canadian snowbirds from heading to the U.S. this winter, but they’re not all willing to take the risk for warmer weather. 2:07
One affected group that has found no way around the federal government’s travel restrictions are Americans who own property in Canada. Some of them argue they, too, should get an exemption to enter the country.
“I pay [property] taxes. I would more than live by the rules,” said Zavesky, who points out she has a place where she can quarantine for 14 days — her home in Golden, B.C.
Mark Brosch of Atlanta owns a cottage in Muskoka Lakes, Ont. He said he believes he should be allowed to enter Canada so he can check on a property that has sat vacant for 10 months.
“I get across the border and I go to my cottage and quarantine for 14 days,” he said. “I am less of a risk to the public in Muskoka than the people that travel back and forth from Toronto every weekend.”
Mark and Sandra Brosch of Atlanta are shown at their cottage in Muskoka Lakes, Ont., during a previous summer. This year, the American couple can’t visit their property due to the border shutdown. (Submitted by Mark Brosch)
When asked about property owners, the Public Health Agency of Canada told CBC News in an email that U.S. visitors will be allowed to re-enter Canada when it’s deemed safe to do so.
“Travel into Canada for tourism and recreation purposes is currently prohibited, regardless of the ability of the traveller to quarantine for the full 14 days upon arrival,” spokesperson Tammy Jarbeau said.
OTTAWA – A final report is set to be released today by Canada’s special interlocutor for missing children and unmarked graves associated with residential schools.
Kimberly Murray, who has been serving in the role for two years, will speak with Justice Minister Arif Virani at a gathering in Gatineau, Que.
More than 150,000 Indigenous children were forced to attend residential schools, the last of which closed in 1996.
An estimated 6,000 children died in the schools, though experts say the actual number could be much higher.
In recent years, communities have been searching the grounds of former residential schools in hopes of bringing their missing children home.
In an interim report last year, Murray documented attacks from denialists on communities exploring possible discoveries of unmarked graves, and her final report is expected to deliver recommendations on how communities can be supported in their work.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.
MONTREAL – A legislature member with the Coalition Avenir Québec government is closing her riding office north of Montreal indefinitely because she fears for her safety and the safety of her employees.
Sylvie D’Amours says that for years she and her team have been victims of threats and mischief, adding that most recently “projectiles” were fired through her riding office windows.
There has been a notable rise in vulgarity and other types of harassment against Quebec politicians in recent years, and D’Amours says she thinks the government’s plan to update flood zone maps may be tied to the violence against her team.
In a lengthy Facebook post today, the representative for Mirabel says communities like hers are working off outdated flood maps and that climate change has increased flooding risks across the province.
D’Amours says that a lot of misinformation is circulating online about the government’s plans, and she called on residents to be respectful and not to give in to panic.
Quebecers are worried that their properties will be included in the new flood maps, making it more difficult to obtain insurance and leading to other financial headaches.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2024.
PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) — Militants attacked a health center used in an ongoing anti-polio campaign in northwestern Pakistan on Tuesday, triggering a shootout that left two police officers dead, local authorities said. Three of the attackers were also killed in the exchange of fire.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack in Orakzai, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province and a former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban.
Local police officer Adnan Khan said the attack happened in the morning as health workers were gathering ahead of leaving for the door-to-door campaign along with police, who escort polio teams for their safety.
No polio worker was harmed in Tuesday’s attack but another police officer who was wounded later died at a hospital, Khan added.
The attack drew condemnation from the country’s top political leadership, including President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who paid tributes to the slain officers for bravely responding to the attack.
Also Tuesday, militants stormed a health center in North Waziristan, another former stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, snatched guns from officers and warned health workers who had gathered there not to take part in the anti-polio campaign, local police officer Shoib Khan said.
The attackers then left with the weapons they seized, he said, without offering more details.
In severe cases, polio can cause permanent paralysis and death.
Pakistan on Monday launched another nationwide polio drive to vaccinate 45 million children under age 5 after a surge in new cases. The campaign is the third this year.
Pakistan has recorded 41 cases across 71 districts so far this year, mostly in the southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh provinces, as well as in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and eastern Punjab province.
In Afghanistan, local health authorities said Monday that vaccinations have started in 16 of the country’s 34 provinces. The campaign will last three days and target 6.2 million children under the age of 5, according to spokesperson Sharafat Zaman.
There have been 23 confirmed cases in Afghanistan this year, according to the World Health Organization.
Insurgents and separatists also target security forces and civilians in various parts of the country.
In the latest attack, gunmen on Monday night fatally shot five construction workers assigned to repair a dam in Banjgur, a district in the southwestern Balochistan province, according to a government statement. It provided no further details, and it was not clear who was behind the attack.
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Associated Press writer Abdul Sattar in Quetta, Pakistan, contributed to this report.
