After Karel Bennett was turned away at the U.S. land border between B.C. and Washington state last month, she didn’t give up hope of entering the U.S. to see her newborn grandson.
The Canada-U.S. land border is closed to non-essential travel to help stop the spread of COVID-19. However, Bennett had heard rumours she may still be able to fly to the U.S.
She said she was first tipped off by U.S. border officers at the crossing where she was denied entry.
“They said, ‘Have you thought about flying?’ And I said, ‘Well, no,’ and they said, ‘You might want to look at that.'”
Bennett was desperate to visit her daughter, who lives just outside Seattle, because her daughter’s one-month-old son was sick with a respiratory problem. So, Bennett took a chance and booked a flight from Vancouver to Seattle on May 22. This time, she had no problems getting through U.S. customs and entering the country.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” said Bennett, who lives in Sooke, B.C. “I was so happy.”
The Canada-U.S. land border is closed to non-essential travel to help stop the spread of COVID-19. (The Canadian Press)
Many Canadians are unaware that, even though they’re currently barred from driving to the U.S. for leisure travel, they can still fly to the country.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told CBC News that its travel restrictions apply only to Canadians trying to enter the U.S. at land border crossings, which includes travel by car, train, ferry and pleasure boats.
However, Canadian air passengers can still enter the country as long as they haven’t visited Brazil, China, Iran, Ireland, the U.K. or 26 European countries in the Schengen Area14 days prior.
Canadian travellers also likely won’t have to self-isolate for 14 days upon arrival. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that international travellers do so, but it’s not a requirement unless specified by a particular region or state. For example, Hawaii requires that air passengers self-isolate for 14 days.
When Canadians return home, they must self-isolate for 14 days — as per federal rules.
Flying rule not widely known
The U.S. air travel rule isn’t widely known on either side of the border. U.S. immigration lawyer Len Saunders said he only became aware of the details when one of his Canadian clients called him in mid-May — from Las Vegas.
The client reported that he had managed to fly from Vancouver to visit his fiancée, who lives in Las Vegas.
“I was shocked,” said Saunders, whose office sits close to the Canadian border in Blaine, Wash. “Logically, when you look at it, if the border’s closed, it shouldn’t be any different whether you drive or fly.”
Len Saunders, an immigration lawyer in Blaine, Wash., said he was shocked when he first learned that Canadians can still fly to the U.S. (Gabriel Osorio/CBC)
Saunders immediately spread the word about flying to the U.S. to his Canadian clients who have loved ones in the country. He said dozens of them have since flown there and experienced no complications or self-isolation requirements.
“It’s given them the opportunity to reunite with family members, so it’s definitely a welcome loophole to many Canadians.”
Saunders advises people to book their flights online. His clients who have tried to buy a plane ticket to the U.S. by phone have often been rejected by airline agents unaware that it’s allowed, he said.
“Don’t talk to an agent, and you’ll have no problem.”
Some U.S. airlines currently offer routes between Canada and the U.S., and Air Canada resumed service to the U.S. on May 22.
WATCH | Questions about who new policy is designed to help:
Canada is now allowing some family members separated by temporary COVID-19 travel restrictions to cross the border from the U.S. 3:22
The permission to fly isn’t reciprocal: Canada prohibits U.S. visitors from entering the country via all modes of transport — including by plane. However, this week, the Canadian government loosened its travel restrictions to allow U.S. citizens with immediate family in Canada to enter the country.
Last month, Canada and the U.S. agreed to keep their shared land border closed to non-essential traffic until June 21, and, according to sources with direct knowledge of the situation, that date will be extended. But Canadians will still be able to fly to the U.S., unless the country revises its rules.
Why let Canadians fly to the U.S.?
Bennett spent 10 days in the U.S. and is grateful she had the opportunity to reunite with her daughter and help care for her new grandson, who has since recovered from his illness.
“There’s really no words to express it. I’m very thankful,” she said about her visit.
But Bennett said she’s confused about why she was allowed to enter when the Canada-U.S. land border is closed.
“It’s very bizarre,” she said. “Why would they do that?”
CBP didn’t provide CBC News with an explanation. Instead, it sent a link to a Department of Homeland Security document that states that “non-essential travel between the United States and Canada poses additional risk of transmission and spread of COVID–19.”
However, the document doesn’t state why its travel restrictions for Canadians only apply to land border crossings.
Saunders said he’s stumped why the U.S. is still allowing Canadians to fly to the country.
“It makes no sense, but many Canadians are happy to take advantage of this loophole.”
A word of caution
The Canadian government currently advises its citizens to avoid travelling abroad because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it won’t prevent them from visiting the U.S. or other countries and will allow travellers to return to Canada — as long as they self-isolate for 14 days.
However, because of the government’s travel advisory, Canadians will likely face difficulty getting travel insurance that provides medical coverage if they fall ill with COVID-19 while abroad.
Total U.S. coronavirus cases surpassed two million on Wednesday. Canada’s cases stood at just over 99,000.
VANCOUVER – Contract negotiations resume today in Vancouver in a labour dispute that has paralyzed container cargo shipping at British Columbia’s ports since Monday.
The BC Maritime Employers Association and International Longshore and Warehouse Union Local 514 are scheduled to meet for the next three days in mediated talks to try to break a deadlock in negotiations.
The union, which represents more than 700 longshore supervisors at ports, including Vancouver, Prince Rupert and Nanaimo, has been without a contract since March last year.
The latest talks come after employers locked out workers in response to what it said was “strike activity” by union members.
The start of the lockout was then followed by several days of no engagement between the two parties, prompting federal Labour Minister Steven MacKinnon to speak with leaders on both sides, asking them to restart talks.
MacKinnon had said that the talks were “progressing at an insufficient pace, indicating a concerning absence of urgency from the parties involved” — a sentiment echoed by several business groups across Canada.
In a joint letter, more than 100 organizations, including the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, Business Council of Canada and associations representing industries from automotive and fertilizer to retail and mining, urged the government to do whatever it takes to end the work stoppage.
“While we acknowledge efforts to continue with mediation, parties have not been able to come to a negotiated agreement,” the letter says. “So, the federal government must take decisive action, using every tool at its disposal to resolve this dispute and limit the damage caused by this disruption.
“We simply cannot afford to once again put Canadian businesses at risk, which in turn puts Canadian livelihoods at risk.”
In the meantime, the union says it has filed a complaint to the Canada Industrial Relations Board against the employers, alleging the association threatened to pull existing conditions out of the last contract in direct contact with its members.
“The BCMEA is trying to undermine the union by attempting to turn members against its democratically elected leadership and bargaining committee — despite the fact that the BCMEA knows full well we received a 96 per cent mandate to take job action if needed,” union president Frank Morena said in a statement.
The employers have responded by calling the complaint “another meritless claim,” adding the final offer to the union that includes a 19.2 per cent wage increase over a four-year term remains on the table.
“The final offer has been on the table for over a week and represents a fair and balanced proposal for employees, and if accepted would end this dispute,” the employers’ statement says. “The offer does not require any concessions from the union.”
The union says the offer does not address the key issue of staffing requirement at the terminals as the port introduces more automation to cargo loading and unloading, which could potentially require fewer workers to operate than older systems.
The Port of Vancouver is the largest in Canada and has seen a number of labour disruptions, including two instances involving the rail and grain storage sectors earlier this year.
A 13-day strike by another group of workers at the port last year resulted in the disruption of a significant amount of shipping and trade.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
The Royal Canadian Legion says a new partnership with e-commerce giant Amazon is helping boost its veterans’ fund, and will hopefully expand its donor base in the digital world.
Since the Oct. 25 launch of its Amazon.ca storefront, the legion says it has received nearly 10,000 orders for poppies.
Online shoppers can order lapel poppies on Amazon in exchange for donations or buy items such as “We Remember” lawn signs, Remembrance Day pins and other accessories, with all proceeds going to the legion’s Poppy Trust Fund for Canadian veterans and their families.
Nujma Bond, the legion’s national spokesperson, said the organization sees this move as keeping up with modern purchasing habits.
“As the world around us evolves we have been looking at different ways to distribute poppies and to make it easier for people to access them,” she said in an interview.
“This is definitely a way to reach a wider number of Canadians of all ages. And certainly younger Canadians are much more active on the web, on social media in general, so we’re also engaging in that way.”
Al Plume, a member of a legion branch in Trenton, Ont., said the online store can also help with outreach to veterans who are far from home.
“For veterans that are overseas and are away, (or) can’t get to a store they can order them online, it’s Amazon.” Plume said.
Plume spent 35 years in the military with the Royal Engineers, and retired eight years ago. He said making sure veterans are looked after is his passion.
“I’ve seen the struggles that our veterans have had with Veterans Affairs … and that’s why I got involved, with making sure that the people get to them and help the veterans with their paperwork.”
But the message about the Amazon storefront didn’t appear to reach all of the legion’s locations, with volunteers at Branch 179 on Vancouver’s Commercial Drive saying they hadn’t heard about the online push.
Holly Paddon, the branch’s poppy campaign co-ordinator and bartender, said the Amazon partnership never came up in meetings with other legion volunteers and officials.
“I work at the legion, I work with the Vancouver poppy office and I go to the meetings for the Vancouver poppy campaign — which includes all the legions in Vancouver — and not once has this been mentioned,” she said.
Paddon said the initiative is a great idea, but she would like to have known more about it.
The legion also sells a larger collection of items at poppystore.ca.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 9, 2024.
