Source:
https://scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/3075852/canada-us-plan-close-border-non-essential-travel United States & Canada
Canada, US plan to close border to non-essential travel
- The move will mostly close the largest non-militarised land border in the world
- People will not be allowed to cross in either direction for recreational reasons, but essential travel and deliveries will continue
Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at a news conference Ottawa, Canada on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Maura Forrest on politico.com on March 18, 2020.
Canada and the US have mutually agreed to “temporarily restrict all non-essential travel across the Canada-US border,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Wednesday.
President Donald Trump made a similar announcement on Twitter Wednesday morning.
The move will mostly close the largest non-militarised land border in the world, another restriction as coronavirus spreads around the globe and cases multiply in both the US and Canada.
People will not be allowed to cross in either direction for recreational reasons, Trudeau said. But “essential” travel – that delivers food, fuel and medicines into both nations – will continue, he said.
Canadians and Americans who do “essential” work or who have “urgent” reasons to cross the border will be permitted to do so, Trudeau said adding that details will follow soon. “Travel restrictions will not apply to commerce or trade,” he said.
The joint decision amounts to the most drastic closure of the US-Canadian boundary since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.
Asked whether he may consider domestic travel restrictions, Trudeau said he is “not taking any options off the table”.
Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland has stressed the importance of the Canada-US border for both countries, pointing out that part of Canada’s food supply is trucked north from the US.
“It is a unique relationship for Canada, and it’s important for us in handling our situation on the border to be sure that we act to get things right,” she told reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Health Minister Patty Hajdu listed a number of examples of non-essential travel that some Canadians who live near the border might take for granted, including picking up packages mailed to US addresses and shopping in the US for lower prices.
According to the Canadian census, two thirds of Canadians live within 62 miles (100km) of the US border.
Ottawa is urging Canadians abroad to return home while they still can, but Transport Minister Marc Garneau clarified on Tuesday that “all Canadians can come home”, including anyone driving back from the US.