Top U.S. Democratic Senator Demands Border Opening Plan And More Cross-Border Travel

May 6, 2021 ctn_admin

The most powerful Democrat in the U.S. Senate is demanding a return to more regular travel between the U.S. and Canada

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the leading member of the U.S. Senate and a key ally of President Joe Biden, has written a letter to the Biden administration asking for a series of changes, saying that the border should re-open “quickly but safely.”

““We can’t wait any longer,” said Schumer, the senior United States senator from New York. “The monthly extensions… have no rhyme or reason, they confuse people, they don’t let people plan, they frustrate thousands of western New Yorkers and Southern Ontarians, who depend on the border crossing.”

Schumer is asking U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken for four changes, according to the CBC.

1. A detailed plan, which he wants ASAP, that explains what health-related benchmarks will be used to re-establish non-essential travel between the two countries. Schumer said the plan should add transparency and clarity to a process that the public finds frustrating and confusing.
2. In the meantime, he wants both Canada to let more people cross the border immediately. He says he wants the definition of essential travellers expanded to include vaccinated people who have property, educational, medical or business reasons for crossing the border.
3. Schumer also wants clarity for boaters; and,
4. He’s asking for a safety plan for border agents, including access to vaccines, testing and protective equipment.

The CBC says other New York state politicians also have been ratcheting up the border pressure, although it notes that neither Ottawa nor Washington appears to have made it a priority. Still, Schumer is the most senior politician in the U.S. to make such a demand.

“Having endured one of the deadliest chapters in New York’s history, the residents along the border are ready to turn the page and re-establish the familiar links to their loved ones, their property and their prosperity,” Schumer’s letter said.

“It is now incumbent on the federal government to do their part and aid their desperate desire to fully rebuild and recover. This recovery cannot be done, and I will not rest, until bilateral collaboration to safely reopen the United States and Canadian land border is an utmost priority and a plan for a full reopening is publicly released.”

“While at the beginning — and in the height — of the pandemic it was understandable for such drastic measures to be taken, we know much more about the virus than we knew in March of last year and are making strong gains against it,” Schumer said in a press release. “Since vaccination rates have risen, overall rates are steadily falling, and New York is ready to reopen, based on the data, it is time to take the first steps towards reopening the Northern Border to non-essential travel.

The Canada-U.S. border last month was closed to all but essential traffic until May 21. With virus numbers still high in many parts of Canada, it would be a tough sell for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to change anything soon. But the pressure is there.

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