The reopening of the Canada-US land border on Monday triggered a different reaction among Canadian business leaders: They are happy that people, not just goods, will cross the border again, but they are cautious about the red tape that still exists.
The Canadian Chamber of Commerce and the Canadian Business Council stated that Canada’s requirement for returning travelers to provide the most recent negative molecular test is an unnecessary obstacle to launching business travel and tourism.
They said only proof of vaccination is needed and the testing requirement should be eliminated.
They believe that continuous testing requirements are too cumbersome for Canadian business travelers who want to quickly visit US destinations, and too expensive for families who want to take a vacation or reunite with their loved ones.
“If we believe that, as we should, full vaccination is the best way to minimize the risk, we should believe in the vaccination system. We should pay close attention to the outbreaks in both countries,” said Palin Bi, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce. Di said in an interview.
Goldy Hyder, chairman of the Canadian Business Council, said: “The rules of Canada and North America are inconsistent with the development direction of most parts of the world. This is a competitive disadvantage for Canada and North America.”
Although the United States will not require travelers to test negative for COVID-19, the Canadian government will not waive the requirements for citizens and permanent residents entering Canada.
This means that when the land border is opened to non-essential travelers for the first time since March 2020, the negative COVID-19 test requirements for Canadian travelers will not be ended at the same time.
Beatty said that the US response to the 9/11 terrorist attacks 20 years ago provided the government with a good risk management lesson.
After the attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon in New York City, the Canada-US border was violently closed. It reopened quickly because both governments realized that trade and the movement of goods and people across borders needed to be restored, but stricter security measures were required.
Canada and the United States realized that they could not eradicate terrorism, so they “adopted a risk management approach, which is,’What we will do is we will focus on the highest risk areas. We will use intelligence,” Beatty said.
“But the government treats COVID in a very different way, an uncoordinated way, a way that is not based on risk management.”
Meredith Lilly, chairman of trade policy at the Norman Paterson School of International Affairs at Carleton University, said it may take some time to understand the impact of border closures and various blockades on a key aspect of international trade-labor mobility. .
“We have all just experienced the world’s largest digital experiment. Many of us are forced to learn how to operate in a digital environment instead of traveling to do work that once required us to face it in person,” Lilly said .
“I don’t know if we have not fully understood the consequences of doing this? Will this affect the liberalization of labor mobility, where people commute, and we see labor mobility as an important part of global trade in the 21st century.”
Eli Lilly said that the consequences of the 9/11 attacks and the new border security and counter-terrorism measures that followed may be instructive for the next few years.
For example, she said that the number of day trips between the two countries has dropped sharply, which is the result of the well-known “unfriendly border phenomenon, where travelers choose to abandon their trips because they are unwilling to face stricter scrutiny.”
The cost and inconvenience of conducting PCR testing can be frustrating. For Li, this could have a devastating effect on the tourism industry, leading to a reduction in shorter, more spontaneous trips.
She added that larger companies may be able to bear the costs of testing, but smaller companies may not be able to bear these costs.
Hyde said the government needs to have more confidence in the vaccine’s ability to stop the spread of COVID-19 or at least weaken its impact on people who may be infected with it.
Once the border is reopened, how should Canadians prepare for a 1-day trip to the United States?
“We must adopt new methods to manage risk and look at risk. And I think Canadians should be rewarded for complying with the vaccine,” Hyde said.
“If the only people walking around are those who are fully vaccinated, then it’s time for us to believe in vaccines, and we recognize that this epidemic means that we must coexist with them.”
Brian Kingston, chairman of the Canadian Automobile Manufacturers Association, said that given that the integrated industry and its supply chain cross the Canadian-US border, the automotive industry is ready to take advantage of any new flexibility allowed by unrestricted land travel.
“Throughout the pandemic, we have seen the continued movement of parts and finished cars, which is all very positive. However, we have encountered challenges in the movement of people,” Kingston quoted engineers and researchers as saying.
“There are challenges in the rules around the border, especially the definition of what is a necessary worker and the exemptions provided.”
He said that although air travel is always an option, the fact that so many industries are concentrated near the Windsor-Detroit border means that while incurring additional costs, it will only cause planning troubles.
“Something happened. You have to visit a facility, or repair a machine. Having to go to the airport to fly to the United States is just an additional burden,” Kingston said.
“Put it in the rearview mirror-it’s great.”
© 2021 Canadian Press
