The partial shutdown of the US Canada border will allow trade and commerce like the cross-border transfer of medical supplies, food, and other goods.
Justin Trudeau Canadian Prime Minister announced on March 18 that he would close the country’s borders to the non-Canadian citizens, a permanent resident of USA or ban all non-essential travel. The United States also has stated that a deal is in the pipeline to close the US-Canada border that will enable trade and commerce, but restrict movement, confirmed the report.
According to US media reports, a partial shutdown would allow the cross-border transfer of medical supplies, food, and other goods, said an official who was not named because of the anonymity. Both countries will also allow for the movement of auto parts. The decision to seal the border has the potential to be effective from March 18 but will be officially announced at a press conference within 24 to 48 hours later.
“ Let me be clear: If you are abroad, now is the time to come home,” Prime minister Justin Trudeau said. “If you’ve just arrived, you must self-isolate for 14 days. Those already in the country, as much as possible, should stay home”, he added while speaking at a press conference outside his residence, where he is quarantined after wife Sophie tested positive to coronavirus.
The federal government announced the closure of borders to free foreign nationals entered the US before barring Canada. As confirmed cases COVID-19 in the United States and Canada spiked, with at least 598 infected in Canada, and over 6,500 cases in the US, the closure of the border has become mandatory for both countries, according to the report.
“Canada and the United States have the longest un-militarized border in the world and that border is vital to the daily life to people on both sides that live of that border,” said Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland. Citing that the Americans are not likey to visit Canada anyway due to self-isolation she said, “I don’t consider that something that a tourist would like to do for a holiday.”
Ontario shuts down bars
Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, Dr. David Williams, meanwhile, recommended that all bars and restaurants must be shut down, other than the takeaway and delivery. Nelson Wiseman, a political science professor at the University of Toronto, was skeptical of the deal as he added saying, “Much more so than shutting the border to people from other states. It is the only land border that Canada shares with another country. So much of Canada’s food supply comes from or via the US,” confirmed an agency report. Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, had already ordered the closure of public premises and schools for two weeks until the end of March.
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