Mayors call to end COVID-19 testing at Canada-U.S. borders
Restrictions at Canada-U.S. land borders are set to change next week.
Travellers will no longer need a negative PCR test to enter Canada. Instead, they can choose to take a cheaper rapid antigen test.
However, community leaders on both sides of the border are calling on the feds to eliminate land border testing altogether.
“You still have to go through the hassle of clicking the box, making the appointment, finding a pharmacy that is available,” says Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens.
Dilkens took part in a conference call Friday, with other cross-border mayors.
“Somehow or another, it is easier for you to hop into a confined space like an airplane and get to where you want to be, but to hop in your car with family and friends to get across the border is some scary concept,” says Robert Restaino, Mayor of Niagara Falls, NY.
“We’ve choked off tourism. Here in Niagara alone, we’ve got 40,000 people that count on tourism to feed their families,” added Jim Diodati, Mayor of Niagara Falls, Ont.
The call was moderated by the Frontier Duty Free Association, who say they’ve been either closed, or over 95 per cent down in revenue with the two year border closure.
“All while planes have flown over the border. Change is needed now. Not a month from now. Now,” says executive director Barbara Barrett.
Dilkens worries the tourism industry will continue to suffer, should testing restrictions remain in place.
“I am home to North America’s largest distillery, 19 wineries, 13 craft breweries and a whole host of other tourists attractions you would find in a border community,” says Dilkens. “This community is being hit hard.”
The president of the Hotel Association of Canada Susie Grynol says a third summer of restrictions could cause the industry to collapse.
“I’m gonna be clear. Canada is not open for business for all the reasons that have been identified in this call already,” says Grynol.
Martin Firestone, of Travel Secure, believes the removal of a required COVID-19 test should happen sooner than later.
“We are probably the last country that still has these requirements in place. Until that level is removed, tourism is going to suffer tremendously,” says Firestone.
The adjustment to the testing requirement goes into effect Feb. 28.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.