Border town mayors call to scrap COVID-19 PCR testing requirement

Mayors and industry leaders in border towns are calling on federal officials to scrap the COVID-19 PCR testing requirement upon entry to Canada. This comes on the day the U.S. reopened its border to non-essential Canadian traffic for the first time in 20 months.

Right now, to enter the U.S. you must be fully vaccinated. While one is not required for entry to the States by land, a negative molecular test is needed if you want to enter Canada. Costs can vary between $100 and $300 per test.

Several American and Canadian representatives held a news conference on Monday, saying discontinuing the mandatory testing would not only cut down on wait times at the border but also increase economic activity.

“This PCR test is a hard-stop barrier for families to reunite, except for the wealthiest of Canadians, and that is unfair,” Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said at the virtual news conference.

“The current system would allow someone to take a PCR test in Canada, cross into Detroit to cheer on the Lions, along with 65,000 fans in the stadium, and then return to Canada using the same test they took before leaving. So how is that test of any use to anyone about the nature of one’s activities and the risks that they were exposed to? … Even if you took a test in the U.S. right after the game, any scientist will tell you that it takes days after an exposure before COVID presents itself through testing.”

Dilkens was joined by New York Congressman Brian Higgins, who spent much of earlier this year calling for the U.S.-Canada border to reopen.

“We will see a significant uptick in economic activity, but we are still doing it with one hand tied behind our back, with this redundant, unnecessary, testing requirement,” Higgins said.

Niagara Falls, N.Y., Mayor Robert Restaino said the border closure over the last year and a half has done a number on businesses on both sides of the border.

“Walking around, driving around, talking to retail establishments and restaurants here in Niagara Falls … I can’t tell you, the excitement was palpable for all of them. They realize what this is going to mean to their respective businesses as they start moving into the holiday season. They’re very excited about it.”

Chief Medical Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has said officials are actively looking at travel policies.

“One of the key ones is what testing measures should be in place for people taking shorter trips,” Tam said, though she did not provide any timeline for updates.

“We will be examining epidemiologic factors between Canada and the United States. At the moment, the U.S. still has higher rates, and … we’re just coming down on the fourth wave, which is great, really happy to provide those optimistic projections, but things could shift pretty quickly in the winter months,” Canada’s top doctor added on Friday, Nov. 5.