Although Canada and the U.S. have agreed to close their shared land border to non-essential travel, they don’t appear to agree on several related issues — including what to do next.
More than seven months after the border closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Donald Trump have offered up contradictory messages about what happens now.
The Canada-U.S. border is set to reopen on Oct. 21, but Trudeau implied this week that the closure will be extended.
In an interview Wednesday on Winnipeg podcast The Start, Trudeau said Canada plans to keep the border closed as long as COVID-19 case counts in the U.S. remains high.
“We keep extending the border closures because the United States is not in a place where we would feel comfortable reopening those borders,” he said.
“We’re looking at the border with Canada — Canada would like it open,” he said at the White House on Sept. 18.
“So we’re gonna be opening the borders pretty soon…. We want to get back to normal business.”
U.S. President Donald Trump responded to a question about the border as he left the White House on Friday, Sept. 18. 0:48
Foreign affairs expert Edward Alden said the disconnect between the two leaders suggests there are currently no joint discussions about an eventual reopening plan.
“With the Trudeau government saying, ‘No, don’t open’ … and President Trump saying, ‘Oh, I think we’ll reopen sometime soon,’ that’s no grounds for a serious government-to-government negotiation,” said Alden, a professor of U.S.-Canada economic relations at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash.
Even though many Canadians support the border closure, which took effect in late March, it has devastated the tourism industry, separated loved ones and hurt border communities in both Canada and the U.S.
Foreign policy expert Edward Alden believes Canada and the U.S. may not be engaging in any discussion on a possible reopening of the border. (submitted by Edward Alden)
Alden said he understands why the border is closed for now, but that it’s important to start laying the groundwork for a reopening plan.
“The problem of not having those negotiations is, when do we possibly have a sense of when it will be safe to reopen the border?”
CBC News asked both the Canadian and U.S. governments about the fate of the border closure and got disparate answers.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security said the two countries are exploring the loosening of some restrictions.
“We believe both the U.S. and Canada are working well together to review potential areas for future off-ramping, when public health conditions permit,” a DHS spokesperson said in an email.
But a spokesperson for Bill Blair — Canada’s public safety minister — offered a less definitive statement on the next steps.
“We will continue to evaluate the best public health information available to us to make a decision on when and how to reopen our border,” the spokesperson said in an email.
“This decision will be made in Canada.”
According to Reuters — which spoke with well-placed Washington and Ottawa sources last month — the U.S. had floated the idea of relaxing some border restrictions, but Canadian officials showed little enthusiasm.
Canadians advised not to go to U.S.
In another disconnect between the two countries, Trudeau is warning Canadians not to fly to the U.S., while the U.S. is welcoming Canadian air passengers.
Conversely, Canada won’t allow Americans to enter for non-essential travel by any mode of transport unless they get a special exemption.
Some Canadian snowbirds plan to head to the southern U.S. this winter, despite the recommendation to avoid all non-essential travel. (Marsha Halper/The Miami Herald/The Associated Press)
CBC News recently reported on some Canadian snowbirds planning to fly to Florida this winter — because they can.
When asked about Canadians — including snowbirds — flying to the U.S., Trudeau said in the podcast interview that they should stay home due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“People have to recognize that they’re putting themselves at risk, they’re putting their loved ones at risk.” he said. “The recommendation is to avoid non-essential travel, and that’s for people’s own safety.”
Case numbers down in sun states
Trudeau and Trump also disagree on the COVID-19 status of some of the U.S. sun destinations Canadians might be tempted to visit this winter.
“I know there’s a lot of people very worried about what’s happening south of the border in Florida and Arizona and California and other places where the virus is not under control — far less under control than we are here,” Trudeau said in the interview.
However, when Trump suggested the border would soon reopen, he said that Florida and Arizona are “doing very well.”
According to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, new daily COVID-19 case numbers in Arizona, Florida and California have declined dramatically since their worrisome peaks in the summer.
EDMONTON – RCMP say a second suspect has been arrested in the killing of an Alberta county worker.
Mounties say 28-year-old Elijah Strawberry was taken into custody Friday at a house on O’Chiese First Nation.
Colin Hough, a worker with Rocky View County, was shot and killed while on the job on a rural road east of Calgary on Aug. 6.
Another man who worked for Fortis Alberta was shot and wounded, and RCMP said the suspects fled in a Rocky View County work truck.
Police later arrested Arthur Wayne Penner, 35, and charged him with first-degree murder and attempted murder, and a warrant was issued for Strawberry’s arrest.
RCMP also said there was a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of Strawberry, describing him as armed and dangerous.
Chief Supt. Roberta McKale, told a news conference in Edmonton that officers had received tips and information over the last few weeks.
“I don’t know of many members that when were stopped, fuelling up our vehicles, we weren’t keeping an eye out, looking for him,” she said.
But officers had been investigating other cases when they found Strawberry.
“Our investigators were in O’Chiese First Nation at a residence on another matter and the major crimes unit was there working another file and ended up locating him hiding in the residence,” McKale said.
While an investigation is still underway, RCMP say they’re confident both suspects in the case are in police custody.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
RICHMOND, B.C. – The Integrated Homicide Investigation Team says the 26-year-old son of a man found dead on British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast has been charged with his murder.
Police say 58-year-old Henry Doyle was found badly injured on a forest service road in Egmont last September and died of his injuries.
The homicide team took over when the BC Coroners Service said the man’s death was suspicious.
It says in a statement that the BC Prosecution Service has approved one count of first-degree murder against the man’s son, Jackson Doyle.
Police say the accused will remain in custody until at least his next court appearance.
The homicide team says investigators remained committed to solving the case with the help of the community of Egmont, the RCMP on the Sunshine Coast and in Richmond, and the Vancouver Police Department.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
VANCOUVER – Mediated talks between the union representing HandyDART workers in Metro Vancouver and its employer, Transdev, have broken off without an agreement following 15 hours of talks.
Joe McCann, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1724, says they stayed at the bargaining table with help from a mediator until 2 a.m. Friday and made “some progress.”
However, he says the union negotiators didn’t get an offer that they could recommend to the membership.
McCann says that in some ways they are close to an agreement, but in other areas they are “miles apart.”
About 600 employees of the door-to-door transit service for people who can’t navigate the conventional transit system have been on strike since last week, pausing service for all but essential medical trips.
McCann asks HandyDART users to be “patient,” since they are trying to get not only a fair contract for workers but also a better service for customers.
He says it’s unclear when the talks will resume, but he hopes next week at the latest.
The employer, Transdev, didn’t reply to an interview request before publication.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 13, 2024.
