Name: Donald Trump says Canada wants to reopen its border with the U.S. Not so fast, says Bill Blair
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Donald Trump says Canada wants to reopen its border with the U.S. Not so fast, says Bill Blair

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To orderpresentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distributionto colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire aboutpermissions/licensing, please go to: OTTAWA – The Canadian government does not feel pressure from the United States to lift border restrictions despite comments by that he expects the border to reopen soon, says Public Safety Minister Bill Blair.In an interview with the Star, Blair said he is aware of Trump’s remarks after the two countries agreed to extend restrictions on cross-border traffic for another month, to Oct. 21, but suggested there is no appetite in Canada to reopen the border soon.Asked how much pressure the Trump administration is exerting on Canadian officials to relax controls and resume the flow of non-essential traffic, Blair said, “None, none.”“Other than that one comment he made, and I saw it too, that was the first I’ve heard from the federal government of the United States any suggestion they wanted to change the existing practice at the border,” Blair said.Blair said he’s heard complaints by state governors and other officials that the closure is hard on border communities, but the minister responsible for the border agency said there is a consensus among the provinces that the border should remain locked down to all but essential traffic, and Ottawa agrees for now.Premier Doug Ford is lobbying Ottawa for the restrictions to continue, fearing an influx of just as cases in Canada are beginning to spike again.Blair noted that in Atlantic Canada, where rules require all travellers — including Canadians — to quarantine for 14 days, there are almost no active cases. (Newfoundland and Labrador’s ban is even tougher, barring all non-essential travel.) Health Canada is reporting a total of nine active cases in the four provinces.Blair said only three per cent of COVID-19 transmission in Canada is related to travel, and not all those cases are from international travel. Health Canada that in Canadian cases of COVID-19, one per cent came from contact with a traveller, and in 3.9 per cent of cases, the patient had travelled outside of Canada.He doesn’t think the low percentage of infections related to foreign travel means it is OK to reopen the border, but rather that “it argues for the effectiveness of the measures we’ve taken.”Asked if it then makes sense to keep the restrictions in place for a long time, Blair replied, “Forever? No — but while the threat remains from this pandemic and while there is, I think, very legitimate concerns about increasing number of cases.”On Sept. 18, Trump told reporters at the White House that, “we're looking at the border with Canada. Canada would like it open, and, you know, we want to get back to normal business.”But Blair denied that Canada is seeking to reopen the border, noting that the restrictions are still allowing essential goods and workers to cross, he said.There have not been shortages on grocery shelves or any significant impact on pharmaceuticals or other goods that Canadians need, he said, and essential cross-border truck traffic is almost back to 2019 levels after a 30 per cent reduction last spring, largely because the auto manufacturing sector has resumed operations. signalled Friday that essential trade includes U.S. imports from Canada of low-cost prescription drugs. He said any moves by the United States to increase those imports “will be taken into account as we develop our capacity to first and foremost help Canadians and cover Canadians' needs here at home, but also be there to help other countries in need as well as we always will.”In mid-March, more than two months after the coronavirus began to spread outside China’s borders and around the world, Canada and the United States struck a deal to limit all but non-essential traffic in goods and workers crossing the border. Each month they have agreed to extend it for 30 days. It is now due to expire Oct. 21, and while Blair would not say how long that might continue, he said Canadian premiers “overwhelmingly” support maintaining current limits and “remain concerned” by the risk posed if people come in “from other jurisdictions.”The picture south of the border remains grim.America has led the world in COVID-19 infections and deaths, with cases Friday topping the 7 million mark, and more than 203,000 COVID-19 deaths, according to updated figures published Friday by Johns Hopkins University. That same tracker reported Canada has had 152,004 confirmed cases and 9,304 deaths – a slightly higher tally than Health Canada’s report, which tallies day-old data.Blair acknowledged there have been significant economic and social impacts of the border shutdown, not just on border towns but on individuals who are separated from those they love, and “they are tough cases.”He said he is working with B.C. officials to deal with concerns in Point Roberts, Washington, a peninsula town of 1,000 whose American residents have been cut off from the rest of their country because they must pass through Canadian territory to get there. Blair said the “challenge” is children want to go to school on the Canadian side, but “there’s a real concern” that in going back and forth, their parents will go shopping in Vancouver. “We’re not indifferent to the difficulty that community is facing but our priority has to be the safety of Canadians,” he said.Public polling research has shown a majority of Canadians to see the border reopened soon. Read more about: JOIN THE CONVERSATION Q:When do you think Canada will be able to reopen the border with the U.S.? Anyone can read Conversations, but to contribute, you should be registered Torstar account holder. If you do not yet have a Torstar account, you can create one now (it is free)Sign InRegisterConversations are opinions of our readers and are subject to the . The Star does not endorse these opinions.Copyright owned or licensed by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited. Allrights reserved. 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close This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. To orderpresentation-ready copies of Toronto Star content for distributionto colleagues, clients or customers, or inquire aboutpermissions/licensing, please go to: OTTAWA – The Canadian government does not feel pressure from the United States to lift border restrictions despite comments by that he expects the border to reopen soon, says Public Safety Minister Bill Blair.In an interview with the Star, Blair said he is aware of Trump’s remarks after the two countries agreed to extend restrictions on cross-border traffic for another...

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Donald Trump says Canada wants to reopen its border with the U.S. Not so fast, says Bill Blair

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