Border closure and spring outfitting season

[OntarioHunter]

@OntarioHunter. Where do you come up with this stuff? The u.s. is most definitely not the “hold out” in reopening. Even when the u.s is ready to start opening more, I would expect Canada not to follow suit for some time. Also, nothing has changed from the u.s. side as far as restrictions since Biden has taken office. Everything has remained almost identical as what it was a year ago. I do feel we are finally getting closer to things returning to some semblance of normalcy between our borders but we’re still a long way from the good old days.

I am situated on the border and have crossed twice in the last year so yes I have some exposure as to changes that have taken place on both sides. Biden introduced the 14 day quarantine that Canada already had in place but it doesn't look like he followed through with any kind of practical enforcement. Never happened when I crossed to go to Minneapolis for J&J vax a few weeks ago. Right now Canada is in much worse shape than US so it makes sense that Biden will be calling the shots since Americans are more at risk. I thought it stupid that NY governor was whining about reopening the border to Ontario when the province is still battling with serious third wave issues and problems getting vaccines out. Like what cave has this guy been living in? Very embarrassing for Democrat party to have someone with such a high profile being so far off the page of current pandemic reality.

Would have been great if the two countries could have got their head out of their ass and straightened out a vaccine passport system. Should have been done last year. In all fairness though, being vaccinated doesn't mean travellers are immune. They just won't get sick or as sick if they become infected. So they can still carry the disease across borders and be a danger to others, especially those stupid enough to refuse vaccination.

 

[huntin24/7]

I have a little exposure to the border as well. I live 15 minutes from it and work at it 5 days a week. Not sure if that gives me any credibility though. I know every border is different to some degree even though policies are supposed to be uniform. There is no non essential travel allowed into Canada right now. You can travel to the u.s. for any purpose if you fly here. I know that’s a pain but you could still come down here and hunt, fish, vacation, snowbird, etc. I’m not saying at all who’s right or wrong but that’s what’s going on.

 

[OntarioHunter]

I have a little exposure to the border as well. I live 15 minutes from it and work at it 5 days a week. Not sure if that gives me any credibility though. I know every border is different to some degree even though policies are supposed to be uniform. There is no non essential travel allowed into Canada right now. You can travel to the u.s. for any purpose if you fly here. I know that’s a pain but you could still come down here and hunt, fish, vacation, snowbird, etc. I’m not saying at all who’s right or wrong but that’s what’s going on.

As far as I know anyone can fly into Canada (except from India or Pakistan ... at the moment). They just have to take the test at airport and then straight to expensive quarantine motel until results are done then self quarantine someplace for rest of two weeks. There are exceptions of course e.g. health workers and transport truck drivers who work on the other side. I tried to get an exemption to get vaxed in MN and return immediately but no dice. No one seemed to know who to call about exemption. Not very well thought out. For example, it is cheaper to violate the motel quarantine and simply pay the fine. They can theoretically throw travellers in jail for a violation but so far it's not happened. Sorry to say, but I am considering that option. I prefer to be law abiding but $800 fine vs $2,000 in a quarantine motel? Not hard to do the math. Biden imposed the 14 day quarantine rule on new arrivals into US but doesn't have anyone to enforce it. So as far as I know it has been ignored. I'm hoping by August there will be some concessions for vaxed travellers coming back to Canada once the general population is better vaccinated here.

 

[Gellar]

Word is June 22 borders between U.S. and Canada may re-open w/ limitations.

Currently there are select ports for U.S. to transit to/from Alaska.

Each month on the 21st, the reassessment is announced.

I read an article stating what Sytes has said the other day and now I can not find it. From my understanding the U.S. border was going to reopen to Canadians entering the U.S. but not the Canadian border reopening to U.S. citizens entering into Canada.

The Canadian government recently opened the border along the Northwest Angle in Minnesota for residents to travel across land back to Minnesota. They were having to travel over water or the ice of Lake of the Woods, but they are not allowing guests at the many resorts and outfitters of the NW Angle travel through Canada to get to the tourist destination.

Canada ends COVID restrictions on Northwest Angle residents' travel

The action brings some relief for residents and businesses.

www.startribune.com

 

[OntarioHunter]

I read an article stating what Sytes has said the other day and now I can not find it. From my understanding the U.S. border was going to reopen to Canadians entering the U.S. but not the Canadian border reopening to U.S. citizens entering into Canada.

The Canadian government recently opened the border along the Northwest Angle in Minnesota for residents to travel across land back to Minnesota. They were having to travel over water or the ice of Lake of the Woods, but they are not allowing guests at the many resorts and outfitters of the NW Angle travel through Canada to get to the tourist destination.

Canada ends COVID restrictions on Northwest Angle residents' travel

The action brings some relief for residents and businesses.

www.startribune.com

There's also a similarly small isolated sliver of Wahington state that has for some time allowed residents to travel through Canada to the mainland US. I wonder what took them so long to make the same exception for NW Angle.

No, last I knew Biden was wanting to keep the border closed and quietly locking horns with Governor Cuomo who wants to flood northern NY tourist spots with sick Ontarians. Right now things are bad enough up here that we are under stay at home order with stores closed except for curbside, etc. Why would the US want to open the border if people are that sick up here? Fortunately Biden is smarter than the last guy ... which isn't saying much. Manitoba is still in very bad shape and Alberta not much better. Things are improving but not enough to lift stay at home or inter provincial travel. Not yet.

 

[Carnage2011]

There's also a similarly small isolated sliver of Wahington state that has for some time allowed residents to travel through Canada to the mainland US. I wonder what took them so long to make the same exception for NW Angle.

No, last I knew Biden was wanting to keep the border closed and quietly locking horns with Governor Cuomo who wants to flood northern NY tourist spots with sick Ontarians. Right now things are bad enough up here that we are under stay at home order with stores closed except for curbside, etc. Why would the US want to open the border if people are that sick up here? Fortunately Biden is smarter than the last guy ... which isn't saying much. Manitoba is still in very bad shape and Alberta not much better. Things are improving but not enough to lift stay at home or inter provincial travel. Not yet.

Because people aren’t that sick up there. Your government is ruining people’s lives/businesses and the economy for no real reason. The US is basically open with the exception of a few deep blue states. Canada had roughly 2100 new Covid cases yesterday. Ontario has 699 new ones today. Manitoba has 497...doesn’t sound too alarming to me. I’d say that’s a far cry from a good reason for people to stay home.

 

[Gellar]

Because people aren’t that sick up there. Your government is ruining people’s lives/businesses and the economy for no real reason. The US is basically open with the exception of a few deep blue states. Canada had roughly 2100 new Covid cases yesterday. Ontario has 699 new ones today. Manitoba has 497...doesn’t sound too alarming to me. I’d say that’s a far cry from a good reason for people to stay home.

Math is not my strong suit, but Ontario population/700 = >.00005%.

Like I have maintained all along keep the border closed if you so choose, but at least tell us how/when you will begin to open the border. Will it be when 75% of citizens are vaccinated? Will it be when the daily infections are on a downward trend for X days? I don’t care, just put it out there instead of doing this month to month crap and keep people whose lively hood and passions depend on it.

 

[Murphyt]

Yeah for canada to still be on basically complete lockdown with these numbers of cases and deaths is beyond stupid. And yet still some people are all for it baffles me. If you are going to ruin the economy and lives for this few numbers you may as well bury your head in sand and call it quits because a free and open society will always have some amount of illness and death. I read an article the other day that had the numbers for Ontario and Quebec, they are shockingly low on cases and deaths. And yet they are still completely shutdown! I'm done with any hope Canada will ever make the call to reopen. When they do because I have a small cabin in northern Ontario I will go. It's heaven on earth up there and I dearly miss it. The folks in charge of Canada couldn't have F'ed this thing up worse if they tried!

 

[Gellar]

My passport expired during COVID-19 pandemic. For a long while they were not even excepting applications or renewals of passports as soon as they began to except them again I got my information submitted but I have not heard anything back yet. I fear if they open the border I will not even be able to go because I do not have a new up-to-date passport. When they make the announcement I will be going to Northwest Ontario the day the border opens I have already told my boss such. But I do not think it will be anytime in the near future.

 

[Panda Bear]

I am not defending, only explaining, and even that is not easy

because------it is not just the opening off the International border. Even if and when the Govt opens the international border, there could still be travel restrictions throughout Canada as each Province, Territory and First Nation Reserves within those Provinces and Territories have restrictions and those restrictions are not all the same.

Some of the people in The Territories and on The Reserves are both paranoid and some even like the idea that people are restricted form entering, so there is also that.

I am surprised of how many elders believe the Govt is trying to murder all the Inuits, so they can take the land back. There are always a few conspiracy folks around whenever anything comes up, but it is a bit extreme at the moment. Some still remember the dog elimination program by the Govt back in the 50's that forced folks from their nomad lifestyle to settlements, and although this is a world wide epidemic, they see it as an affront against them and a way to eliminate them, so they say, keep the borders closed ( not the international, but the territories and or reserves )

I have asked noharleyyet about the possibility of moving to Texas, where there are no conspiracy type folks. The only drawback might be what to do with my sled dogs and being forced to only listen to country music

 

[noharleyyet]

I have asked noharleyyet about the possibility of moving to Texas, where there are no conspiracy type folks. The only drawback might be what to do with my sled dogs and being forced to only listen to country music

Not unless they request....

 

[Murphyt]

I just looked up the numbers. Yesterday around 1600 new cases and exactly 19 deaths in a country or what, 30 some million? And Trudeau would like people to believe it's not safe to reopen? If it's not safe to reopen at these levels better end it all because it sure as shit will never be safe then! Covid ain't ever going away and I highly doubt the numbers every get smaller than that with all the people who refuse the vaccine. So someone smart tell me the next step please? It's another virus and unfortunately we just have to get on living and deal with it. Ok rant over.

 

[huntin24/7]

I think you’ll see the % of those getting vaccinated go up more next year. You have to remember that the vaccines just started becoming available 6 months ago. I haven’t gotten mine yet, but plan to eventually. Most people I know that haven’t been vaccinated yet are in the same boat: not anti vax but kinda holding out a bit to see what happens. I can assure you that telling people how stupid they are for not getting vaccinated doesn’t urge people to get the shot. As time goes by and it appears that the risk of the virus outweighs the shot to some people, they will get the shot. Once those numbers go up more, it should help the Canadian gov be more comfortable opening up. And ours for that matter too.

 

[OntarioHunter]

Yeah for canada to still be on basically complete lockdown with these numbers of cases and deaths is beyond stupid. And yet still some people are all for it baffles me. If you are going to ruin the economy and lives for this few numbers you may as well bury your head in sand and call it quits because a free and open society will always have some amount of illness and death. I read an article the other day that had the numbers for Ontario and Quebec, they are shockingly low on cases and deaths. And yet they are still completely shutdown! I'm done with any hope Canada will ever make the call to reopen. When they do because I have a small cabin in northern Ontario I will go. It's heaven on earth up there and I dearly miss it. The folks in charge of Canada couldn't have F'ed this thing up worse if they tried!

I don't know what "news" sites you've been surfing but I can't get on the table for hernia surgery here because the hospitals are full. We were taking patients from other provinces because their ICUs were full. The US under your pal Trump had the worst track record in the world for mishandling COVID till India finally got hit. But India has an excuse ... they're poor, uneducated, and overpopulated. What's America's excuse? Stupidity. Over one weekend more people died from COVID in the US than flu for the entire year during 2019. But hey, "it's not so bad." "Just another flu." You think it's not so bad here compared to US ... and you're right. There's a reason for that. Our govts have been proactive and relatively coordinated in dealing with the pandemic while yours were in denial.

 

[huntin24/7]

Did you even exist before covid?

 

[Panda Bear]

Not unless they request....
View attachment 184716

you think this guy cares about Trump, Biden or Trudeau ?

 

[Gellar]

I have typed and then deleted several comments because the OP doesn’t want a political argument. Right, wrong or indifferent we will never truly know if the actions of either government helped or hurt the Covid pandemic, just our speculations and opinions. Both the US and Canada have been far from transparent on the border issue and the fact remains that hundreds of thousands of people’s livelihoods and financial well being depend on it whether they run a tourism business, like this thread started out as, or they can just get a better price on milk by crossing the border. Most of those people would be happy with a simple hint as to when they can look for the border to reopen and not the month to month crap.

 

[noharleyyet]

you think this guy cares about Trump, Biden or Trudeau ?

Indifferent to anything except his human, mealtime, and a cool spot to repose.

 

[Murphyt]

Lol Ontariohunter. Those numbers are from cdc website. Where should I look if that doesn't suit you? If you can't get hernia surgery maybe Canada's Healthcare system isn't perfect just like ours isn't perfect. Seriously if your system is overwhelmed with that number of cases something is fubar. How is Trudeaus plan going to get all your vaccines from someone other than your closest ally? Even with a moron in charge we pumped out vaccines and are back open. If Trudeau has done such a great job canada would be back up and running already. At least be honest about the current situation if you want to have a discussion about which government made more mistakes in dealing with this. We could go round and round about this all day so let's just agree that we disagree.

 

[Gellar]

Lol Ontariohunter. Those numbers are from cdc website. Where should I look if that doesn't suit you? If you can't get hernia surgery maybe Canada's Healthcare system isn't perfect just like ours isn't perfect. Seriously if your system is overwhelmed with that number of cases something is fubar. How is Trudeaus plan going to get all your vaccines from someone other than your closest ally? Even with a moron in charge we pumped out vaccines and are back open. If Trudeau has done such a great job canada would be back up and running already. At least be honest about the current situation if you want to have a discussion about which government made more mistakes in dealing with this. We could go round and round about this all day so let's just agree that we disagree.

You have to remember that he has crossed the border several times in the last year. Please, Do as I say not as I do.