Canada-U.S. border closure to remain in place until late July: report
Posted June 9, 2020 4:45 pm.
Last Updated June 10, 2020 1:31 pm.
OTTAWA (NEWS 1130) — The Canada-U.S. border is expected to remain closed to non-essential travel until late July, sources tell Reuters.
Reuters is also reporting a majority of provinces have privately told the federal government they don’t want to resume non-essential travel.
The ban prohibits discretionary travel like vacations and cross-border shopping without restricting trade, commerce and essential employees.
B.C.’s health minister previously said that after watching COVID-19 case counts spike earlier this month in nearby states, it should be reason enough to keep the border closed past the current deadline.
On Wednesday, Canada’s deputy prime minister wouldn’t confirm it, but says talks are continuing on both sides after reports the border would stay closed longer.
Deputy Prime Minister @cafreeland does not confirm reports that Canada and the US will extend border restrictions beyond the June 21 deadline. Says current arrangement is working well, and both sides have regular discussions about future of that deal #cdnpoli #COVID19
— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) June 10, 2020
“The arrangement we have today is working, and it is working very well,” Chrystia Freeland says.
The mutual ban on non-essential travel between the two countries has been in place since March 21.
Canada currently has just over 96,600 cases of the coronavirus and has seen 7,895 deaths. Several provinces including Ontario, have begun the process to reopen.
In the United States, the total number of deaths has surpassed 110,000 with almost 2-million cases reported.
