From Reuters:
“U.S. lawmakers push Biden to
lift Canadian travel restrictions”
Four U.S. senators on Friday
asked President Joe Biden to lift restrictions that have barred travel by
Canadians across the northern U.S. border since March 2020. Democratic Senators
Jeanne Shaheen and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, Jon Tester of Montana and
independent Angus King of Maine asked Biden to allow Canadians vaccinated
against COVID-19 to travel to the United States before October. The border
state senators said in a letter the restrictions have led to "economic and
emotional strain in our communities."
The senators added: "A plan
with some indication of when your administration would feel comfortable lifting
border restrictions based on public health data would provide clarity to
businesses and families along the northern border." They also noted that
Canadians can fly to the United States. "We struggle to understand the
public health rationale for the disparate treatment in modes of travel,"
the senators wrote.
The White House did not
immediately comment on Friday, but White House coronavirus response coordinator
Jeff Zients said on Wednesday that given the Delta variant of the coronavirus,
"we will maintain the existing travel restrictions at this point." U.S.
officials and travel industry executives say the White House is set to renew
the restrictions before the latest extension expires on Sept. 21. In August,
the United States again extended restrictions closing its land borders with
Canada and Mexico to nonessential travel such as tourism despite Ottawa's
decision to open its border to vaccinated Americans. Canada on Aug. 9 began
allowing fully vaccinated U.S. visitors for nonessential travel. The United States has continued to extend the
extraordinary restrictions on Canada and Mexico on a monthly basis since March
2020, when they were imposed to address the spread of COVID-19. The U.S. land
border restrictions do not bar U.S. citizens from returning home.
The United States separately bars
most non-U.S. citizens who within the last 14 days have been in the United
Kingdom, the 26 Schengen countries in Europe without border controls, Ireland,
China, India, South Africa, Iran and Brazil.
^ It makes no sense that the US
allows Canadians to fly into the country, but they can not walk or drive across
- and haven't been allowed to since March 2020.
Canada allowed Vaccinated
Americans to walk or drive across on August 9, 2021.
There are many American towns
that are completely surrounded by Canada and rely on going into Canada for:
food, gas, health care, etc.
There are many Canadian towns
that are completely surrounded by the US and rely on going into the United
States for: food, gas, health care, etc.
Canada allows Americans to get
those basic goods inside Canada, but the US doesn't allow Canadians to get
those basic goods inside the United States.
If you can fly into the US from
Canada you should also be allowed to walk or drive across.
There is no logic to these
restrictions. They are only based on politics and not public health. ^
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