WASHINGTON — The largely closed U.S.-Canadian border will creak open slightly Tuesday morning as Canada begins allowing some close family members to reunite north of the border — as long as they plan to stay for at least two weeks.
Speaking at his daily media briefing in Ottawa on Monday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said his government will begin allowing some close relatives of Canadians or Canadian nationals to travel north to visit family. But the new policy is extremely limited; for example, it doesn't even cover siblings. What's more, the policy still requires those entering Canada to quarantine for 14 days.
“This is an incredibly difficult time to be apart from a spouse, a child or mom or dad. We hear that," Trudeau said. “That’s why we are bringing in a limited exemption to allow immediate family members of citizens or permanent residents to come to Canada.”
The U.S.-Canadian border has been closed to nonessential travel since March 20 in hopes of slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus. The closure, which has been extended twice, is now set to expire June 22.
But if anything, Trudeau's move Monday shows that any reopening will likely be partial, given that Canadian officials stressed that preventing the spread of Covid-19 remains paramount.
That being the case, the new policy allowing family visits is extremely narrow in scope. It defines immediate family as spouses, common-law partners, dependent children, parents or step-parents, and guardians or tutors. And anyone showing symptoms of Covid-19 will be turned away at the border.
What's more, Trudeau's move will require anyone entering Canada to visit family to quarantine north of the border for 14 days. If they don't, they could face stiff penalties: a $750,000 and/or six months in prison. And if someone breaking quarantine were to endanger a Canadian's life as a result, those penalties increase to a $1 million fine and three years in prison.
"f you don’t follow these rules, you could face serious penalties,” Trudeau said. “All this is difficult and frustrating, and longer than we hoped it would be in many ways, but at the same time we know that the cost of having to return into social isolation, return into lockdown because of a massive resurgence is not one that anyone wants to bear, which is why we are being very cautious going forward."
Prior to the new policy, families could reunite in Canada only if the Canada Border Services Agency deemed such visits essential.
The goal of the new policy is only to allow families to reunite when necessary, Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said at a separate briefing, according to Global News Canada.
“To be clear, the immediate family exemption does not mean the border will now be opened again to travellers or those seeking to attend a personal or social gathering,” Mendicino said.
Rep. Brian Higgins, a Buffalo Democrat, called Canada's move "an incremental step forward." But he stressed that more needs to be done to reopen the border.
“Residents of the U.S. and Canada have become accustomed to crossing the border like neighbors in other communities cross the street. We cross to visit family, vacation, shop and eat," Higgins said. "A gradual return to a seamless flow of people across the border as communities reopen, along with necessary safety precautions to continue to lower exposure to COVID-19, will be an important component of economic recovery for both nations.”
As part of his effort to press for a fuller border reopening, Higgins on Monday wrote to Mark Morgan, the acting commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection, to ask him to resolve the standoff that led the Trump administration to stop accepting trusted traveler program applications and renewals from New Yorkers earlier this year. The administration blocked New Yorkers from signing up for programs such as Nexis because the state would not give federal agencies access to state driver's license records.
“Although travel restrictions have been extended along the Northern Border until June 22 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, it is necessary to revisit this suspension now in preparation for the border re-opening,” Higgins wrote. "The broad intervention of the federal government without significant consultation with the State has resulted in significant harm for New York State residents that rely on the benefits these (trusted traveler) programs confer."
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