WASHINGTON —
A well-known American advocate of stronger Canada-U.S. ties helped state lawmakers from across the Midwest formally vent their bilateral frustrations Wednesday with an official request that the two countries “immediately” open their shared border to fully vaccinated travellers.
Scotty Greenwood, CEO of the Canadian American Business Council, was giving a presentation to the Midwestern Legislative Conference in Rapid City, S.D., when she got an earful from delegates complaining about Canada’s arbitrary enforcement of COVID-19 travel restrictions.
By the time the annual meeting of the conference was over, it had unanimously passed a formal resolution, at Greenwood’s suggestion, adding more political pressure to the burning question of precisely when and how incidental travel between Canada and the United States will resume.
“The interpretation of what is considered essential travel has been a matter of discretion by individual border crossing agents, creating confusion,” the resolution reads.
“The Midwestern Legislative Conference does hereby request that the United States and Canadian federal governments fully reopen the border to all fully vaccinated individuals immediately.”
It further notes that Canada is the second-largest source of foreign direct investment in the U.S., supporting about 500,000 jobs there, and that the two countries racked up $48 billion in two-way agricultural trade in 2019, before the onset of the pandemic.
The resolution describes the relationship as the most prosperous in the world, amounting to more than a trillion dollars in trade and investment each year, but one that depends on the “efficient movement of people, goods and services” to function properly.
The conference, an offshoot of the Council of State Governments, represents legislators from 11 states across the U.S. Midwest — Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota and Wisconsin — as well as the province of Saskatchewan. Alberta, Ontario and Quebec are also affiliate members.
The Maple Leaf flag was on display during Tuesday’s state dinner, Canada was mentioned in prayers beforehand and the national anthem was performed, but despite these flourishes none of the Canadian-based delegates were on hand because of the restrictions.
The resolution, Greenwood said in an interview, was not preplanned, but rather emerged organically from her discussions with delegates and was passed unopposed — an indication of the mounting frustrations south of the border, particularly in the agricultural community.
“This is not just the northern border. This is the entire Midwestern region of the United States,” Greenwood said.
“It’s significant because of the broad reach, if you just look at the map of the country and who these folks represent. It’s significant because it is bipartisan; it’s leadership from all of these state governments. And it is a validation of how important this Canada-U.S. relationship is, and what is at stake economically if we continue to keep the border closed.”
The border has been closed to non-essential travel since March 2020, with the mutual restrictions extended bilaterally on a monthly basis ever since. They are currently set to expire July 21, which means an announcement about next steps is likely in the coming days.
Last week, Canada began exempting fully vaccinated Canadian citizens, permanent residents and a handful of eligible others from the requirement that they quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, including three days in a government-approved hotel in the case of air travellers.
Trudeau refused to say Wednesday when further changes might come. “We will make the appropriate announcements at the appropriate time,” he said.
Experts and observers have been speculating about whether the U.S. might lift its own restrictions along the northern border before Canada is prepared to reciprocate. Signals to date from White House press secretary Jen Psaki suggest that’s unlikely, at least for now.
Those same observers, however, see the prospect of a looming federal election in Canada — and fears of long delays at the border serving as the backdrop to a campaign sure to hinge on how the governing Liberals have handled the pandemic — as a major factor in the federal government’s thinking.
Public opinion in Canada, which was dead-set against the idea of allowing U.S. residents into the country at a time when COVID-19 was running rampant in that country, has begun to shift, said Kathryn Bryk Friedman, a border expert and professor of law and planning at the University at Buffalo.
“I believe that the federal election in Canada is playing a strong role in the calculus of whether to lift border restrictions,” Friedman said.
“If Canadian public opinion is shifting, then the government will, in my opinion, follow suit.”
Whatever happens, it needs to unfold in a mutual, bilateral fashion, said David Jacobson, a U.S. ambassador to Canada under former president Barack Obama who now serves as vice-chair with BMO Financial Group. It would be “suboptimal” if the U.S. decided to go it alone, he said in an interview.
“People move back and forth, sometimes within a matter of hours; well, if one side is open, and the other side requires 14 days of suffering, that’s not going to work,” Jacobson said.
As for any long-term effect on Canada-U.S. relations, it’s possible it ends up being for the better, he added.
“If this relationship can withstand Donald Trump for four years, it can withstand whatever’s going on now — there is too firm a foundation,” Jacobson said. “Maybe it’s one of those many things where we demonstrate that unlike a lot of neighbours, we’re able to work together and we’re able to solve problems together.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 14, 2021.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — A linebacker at Division II West Virginia State was fatally shot during what the university said Thursday is being investigated by police as a home invasion.
The body of Jyilek Zyiare Harrington, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina, was found inside an apartment Wednesday night in Charleston, police Lt. Tony Hazelett said in a statement.
Hazelett said several gunshots were fired during a disturbance in a hallway and inside the apartment. The statement said Harrington had multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Police said they had no information on a possible suspect.
West Virginia State said counselors were available to students and faculty on campus.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with Jyilek’s family as they mourn the loss of this incredible young man,” West Virginia State President Ericke S. Cage said in a letter to students and faculty.
Harrington, a senior, had eight total tackles, including a sack, in a 27-24 win at Barton College last week.
“Jyilek truly embodied what it means to be a student-athlete and was a leader not only on campus but in the community,” West Virginia State Vice President of Intercollegiate Athletics Nate Burton said. “Jyilek was a young man that, during Christmas, would create a GoFundMe to help less fortunate families.”
Burton said donations to a fund established by the athletic department in Harrington’s memory will be distributed to an organization in Charlotte to continue his charity work.
West Virginia State’s home opener against Carson-Newman, originally scheduled for Thursday night, has been rescheduled to Friday, and a private vigil involving both teams was set for Thursday night. Harrington previously attended Carson-Newman, where he made seven tackles in six games last season. He began his college career at Division II Erskine College.
“Carson-Newman joins West Virginia State in mourning the untimely passing of former student-athlete Jyilek Harrington,” Carson-Newman Vice President of Athletics Matt Pope said in a statement. “The Harrington family and the Yellow Jackets’ campus community is in our prayers. News like this is sad to hear anytime, but today it feels worse with two teams who knew him coming together to play.”
DETROIT (AP) — Joe Schmidt, the Hall of Fame linebacker who helped the Detroit Lions win NFL championships in 1953 and 1957 and later coached the team, has died. He was 92.
The Lions said family informed the team Schmidt died Wednesday. A cause of death was not provided.
One of pro football’s first great middle linebackers, Schmidt played his entire NFL career with the Lions from 1953-65. An eight-time All-Pro, he was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973 and the college football version in 2000.
“Joe likes to say that at one point in his career, he was 6-3, but he had tackled so many fullbacks that it drove his neck into his shoulders and now he is 6-foot,” said the late Lions owner William Clay Ford, Schmidt’s presenter at his Hall of Fame induction in 1973. “At any rate, he was listed at 6-feet and as I say was marginal for that position. There are, however, qualities that certainly scouts or anybody who is drafting a ballplayer cannot measure.”
Born in Pittsburgh, Schmidt played college football in his hometown at Pitt, beginning his stint there as a fullback and guard before coach Len Casanova switched him to linebacker.
“Pitt provided me with the opportunity to do what I’ve wanted to do, and further myself through my athletic abilities,” Schmidt said. “Everything I have stemmed from that opportunity.”
Schmidt dealt with injuries throughout his college career and was drafted by the Lions in the seventh round in 1953. As defenses evolved in that era, Schmidt’s speed, savvy and tackling ability made him a valuable part of some of the franchise’s greatest teams.
Schmidt was elected to the Pro Bowl 10 straight years from 1955-64, and after his arrival, the Lions won the last two of their three NFL titles in the 1950s.
In a 1957 playoff game at San Francisco, the Lions trailed 27-7 in the third quarter before rallying to win 31-27. That was the NFL’s largest comeback in postseason history until Buffalo rallied from a 32-point deficit to beat Houston in 1993.
“We just decided to go after them, blitz them almost every down,” Schmidt recalled. “We had nothing to lose. When you’re up against it, you let both barrels fly.”
Schmidt became an assistant coach after wrapping up his career as a player. He was Detroit’s head coach from 1967-72, going 43-35-7.
Schmidt was part of the NFL’s All-Time Team revealed in 2019 to celebrate the league’s centennial season. Of course, he’d gone into the Hall of Fame 46 years earlier.
Not bad for an undersized seventh-round draft pick.
“It was a dream of mine to play football,” Schmidt told the Detroit Free Press in 2017. “I had so many people tell me that I was too small. That I couldn’t play. I had so many negative people say negative things about me … that it makes you feel good inside. I said, ‘OK, I’ll prove it to you.’”
VICTORIA – British Columbia’s Environment Assessment Office has fined Coastal GasLink Pipeline Ltd. $590,000 for “deficiencies” in the construction of its pipeline crossing the province.
The office says in a statement that 10 administrative penalties have been levied against the company for non-compliance with requirements of its environmental assessment certificate.
It says the fines come after problems with erosion and sediment control measures were identified by enforcement officers along the pipeline route across northern B.C. in April and May 2023.
The office says that the latest financial penalties reflect its escalation of enforcement due to repeated non-compliance of its requirements.
Four previous penalties have been issued for failing to control erosion and sediment valued at almost $800,000, while a fifth fine of $6,000 was handed out for providing false or misleading information.
The office says it prioritized its inspections along the 670-kilometre route by air and ground as a result of the continued concerns, leading to 59 warnings and 13 stop-work orders along the pipeline that has now been completed.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
