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The fact that the Biden administration waits longer than the Trudeau administration in Ottawa to allow vaccinated residents to cross into the opposite country is a bit like a border wall – like the one along the United States and Mexico which President Biden halted construction in January, the “The Five” panel debated on Wednesday.
Since the coronavirus outbreak in North America, the US-Canada border has been subject to some of the most stringent restrictions, with extremely limited situations classified as essential crossings.
On “The Five,” the panel discussed how Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a Liberal, announced August 9 as the vaccination date for Americans who can once again visit their northern ally.
Host Dagen McDowell noted that the US-Mexico border is a “free for all” to unvaccinated and unscreened foreign nationals under Biden’s lax new homeland security policies, while Canadian citizens have been barred from entering the United States.
“They postponed the reopening of the Canadian border until August 21,” McDowell said of the Biden administration. “Canada is allowing vaccinated Americans into Canada starting August 9.”
“Are they saying that vaccinated Canadians cannot come to this country but unvaccinated migrants can?” Watters asked.
“In a way, they put up a wall on the northern border – it’s very interesting,” he added.
McDowell speculated that the White House’s lack of urgency in returning the Canadian border to normal operations is because loosening restrictions have no political benefit for the White House.
Many communities, especially in Alaska, New York and Maine, relied on cross-border travel and suffered a heavy economic hit amid the lockdown.
In Alaska in particular, Governor Michael Dunleavy and the three members of the state’s Congressional delegation – Rep. Don Young and Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, all Republicans – sought solutions to the policy, which resulted in made the task of isolated people difficult. 49th state.
“As we continue to work together to address the unprecedented challenges of COVID-19, to ensure the safety and health of our residents and citizens, we appreciate the consideration of reasonable exceptions to land crossings for essential travel between l ‘Alaska and the contiguous United States across your country, “the trio wrote in an October 2020 letter to Trudeau, asking for a diplomatic solution that helps both countries.
They used the example of the town of less than 100 people of Hyder, Alaska, the only road that connects to Canada rather than the rest of the Inside Passage area of the state.
“[T]Biden administration must do more to open [the Alaska (motor) Highway] across Canada. Anything less is a ground blockade with Washington silent, “Dunleavy also said in a series of White House tweets last month.
Throughout the pandemic, the Canadian government allowed limited overland travel for Alaskans transiting to the state from Lower 48 via Canada, as well as mainland residents traveling from the last border.
The Alaska Marine Highway – a series of long-haul toll ferries with some accommodation capacity – still connects southern Alaska to Bellingham, Washington, and air travel remains permitted.
Across the Canada-US border, containment has altered the “intertwined” dynamic between border communities in Maine and those in New Brunswick.
As the Wall Street Journal described in 2020, cities like Madawaska, Maine and Edmundston, New Brunswick saw their federal border as “more of a concept than a barrier.” Canadians, according to the newspaper, often bought their products like groceries and gasoline in the United States, while Americans searched for other products on the Canadian side on a daily basis, and families divided between the two cities remained isolated in the ‘era.
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In reopening the border to Americans on August 9, Trudeau said this week that “with increased vaccination rates and lower COVID-19 cases, we are able to move forward with adjusted border measures “.
“Unless modified or canceled,” the US Department of Homeland Security announced its reopening plan tentatively set for August 21.
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