Border city mayors 'urgently ask' feds to drop land border testing requirements

More than a dozen mayors from across Canada have written an open letter to the Canadian government, “urgently asking” the feds to drop all testing requirements for fully-vaccinated travellers at the Canada-United States land border.

The letter comes just days after Ottawa changed testing requirements, removing the need for a molecular test, taken within 72 hours of their land entry, for people entering Canada.

Now, fully vaccinated travellers have the option to instead show proof of a laboratory-issued antigen test taken a day before the scheduled flight or arrival at a land border crossing.

“As you know, border communities have been at the forefront of the federal strategy and have paid a heavy price with the border being closed to all but essential travel for 20 months,” the letter states. “Even now, the border remains under very strict testing guidelines that are not justified by current science and are out of line with public health officers’ mandates.”

The mayors believe the federal government’s pledge to constantly review border measures is moving too slowly, noting health ministry officials indicate the current guidance will not be reviewed until the end of March, 2022.

“The time to end testing at the land border is now,” the mayors’ letter states.

“In March, Canadians will soon witness full capacity in NHL games with 20,000 fans with no testing requirement, but fully vaccinated American tourists will not be able to cross over the border in their own family car without an unnecessary, expensive test administered by a health professional,” reads the letter. “This absurdity will undermine Canadians’ confidence in all levels of government.”

The open letter is the latest in a series of calls from local mayors and private businesses, including the Frontier Duty Free Association, to eliminate testing requirements as other restrictions begin to ease across Canada.

“Respectfully, border communities have suffered greatly during this pandemic,” the letter reads. “Your government acted quickly to put these measures in place, and your government must act quickly to remove them in these early days of March.”

In response, Public Health Agency of Canada representatives say the government continues to assess the latest available evidence and data.

“As vaccination coverage levels and case counts and hospitalization rates evolve, the Government of Canada will continue reviewing measures at the borders and will adjust them accordingly,” says agency reps.

Here is a list of the mayors who signed off on the letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau:

• Mayor Arthur Slipp – Woodstock, New Brunswick
• Mayor Lucie Dagenais – Frelighsburg, Quebec
• Mayor Glen Grant – Cornwall, Ontario
• Mayor June Caul, Fort Frances, Ontario
• Mayor Jim Diodati – Niagara Falls, Ontario
• Mayor Betty Disero – Niagara on the Lakes, Ontario
• Mayor Mike Bradley -- Sarnia, Ontario
• Mayor Drew Dilkens – Windsor, Ontario
• Mayor Judy Swanson – Boissvain, Manitoba
• Reeve Dave Carlson – Emerson-Franklin, Manitoba
• Mayor Roy Ludwig – Estevan, Saskatchewan
• Mayor Marcel Roy, Weyburn, Saskatchewan
• Mayor Jim Willett – Coutts, Alberta
• Mayor Ron Toyota – Creston, BC
• Mayor Sue McKortoff – Osoyoos, BC