U.S. still not ready to fully open border to Canadians

Just days after the Canadian government announced that with effect from August 9, fully vaccinated Americans will be allowed to enter for tourism and minor purposes, the United States officially announced that it is pushing through its current restrictions on land border crossings until August 21.

In a notification posted in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Federal Register, officials say the threat of COVID-19 transfers remains too high to be mitigated:

"Given the outbreak, ongoing transmission and spread of COVID-19 in the United States and around the world, the Secretary of State has determined that the risk of transmission and spread between the United States and Canada is a specific threat to human life and the national interest."

You can get to the U.S. from Canada by air

The restrictions, which allow only the most essential travel across the U.S. border, expire Wednesday. Canadians who want to travel to the United States can do so by air, but must provide a negative test for COVID-19 taken three days before departure or proof from a licensed health care provider that they have been cured of COVID-19 in the past 90 days.

Travelers from the United States who plan to enter Canada as of 00:01 a.m. Eastern U.S. time on August 9 must be fully vaccinated with one of four approved Canadian vaccines: Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, Oxford-AstraZeneca or Johnson & Johnson at least 14 days before arrival. Fully vaccinated travellers will be exempt from mandatory quarantine and testing upon arrival unless selected for random testing.

What are the officials saying?

Canada's Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said today that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security has informed him of its intention to renew border restrictions in place since March 2020.

"Our relationships with our colleagues and friends in the United States are working out well because they provide a free border crossing. There should be no surprises in our work, we work very cohesively and openly together," Blair commented.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday that Canada should not dictate to the U.S. when it should open its border to Canadians, and that the response to border measures by both governments has been "asymmetrical" since the pandemic began:

"I think each country sets its own border policy. We are working with the United States and alerting them to all changes so that we are as coordinated as possible. But even from the beginning of the pandemic, our countries have taken different approaches to imposing quarantine measures and restrictions," Trudeau noted.

Some politicians, from both the U.S. and Canada, have already expressed their displeasure with President Biden's administration's decision to extend the restrictions.

Thus, Perrin Beatty, president and CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, shared his views on such an action by U.S. authorities in an interview with CTVNews.ca:

"Back on February 23, U.S. President Biden and Prime Minister Trudeau released The Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership, which states that both leaders agreed to take a coordinated approach based on scientific and public health criteria when considering measures to ease restrictions at the Canada-U.S. border in the future. Less than five months later, however, Washington appears to have changed its mind."

Perrin Beatty also noted that despite its commitments, the U.S. has not coordinated on opening its borders with Canada. As the politician put it, "such a U.S. decision goes against both science and the most recent public health evidence.