Canadian and American business groups urge governments to reopen border to the fully vaccinated

Article content

The head of a group that represents the leaders of many of Canada’s biggest companies said the COVID-19 crisis has reached a “seminal moment,” as the federal government’s refusal to make it easier to travel to the U.S. amounts to taking economic growth “hostage.”

Goldy Hyder, the president and chief executive of the Business Council of Canada (BCC), made the comments after an extraordinary number of business lobbies and trade associations from both Canada and the United States released a joint statement which called on the governments of both countries to allow freer cross-border travel among by vaccinated people.

“We’ve been playing Whack-a-Mole with COVID and allowing lockdowns to come and go over the last 15 months,” Hyder said in an interview Tuesday. This, he added, has hurt Canadian and American businesses competing globally with companies from countries that didn’t implement the same virus-containment measures.

Article content

“We’re at a seminal moment where we can … bring forth growth that we know is being held hostage at the sidelines,” he said.

In a letter, the organizations asked governments in Washington and Ottawa to loosen travel restrictions that would allow people who’ve received two vaccine doses to cross the border without showing a negative test result. The groups also called for the creation of a system that proves a person has had both jabs, and requested that authorities come up with timelines for broader reopenings.

Signatories include the BCC, the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Retail Council of Canada, the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, the Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters, and the National Retail Federation.

The rare show of force by groups that sometimes jostle for attention shows the extent to which frustration with travel restrictions has built among executives who are simultaneously trying to navigate a pandemic, the aftereffects of an epic recession and the rapid shift to a digital economy. The situation is especially difficult for Canadian companies, as they often have more clients in the U.S. than they do at home.

The organizations argued that now is the right time for restrictions to be eased, as more than half of Americans and more than three-fifths of Canadians have received at least one injection. Canada’s largest trading partner is the U.S.; in 2020, 73 per cent of goods and services trickled southward.

Article content

“The statement refers to non-essential travel, but in many cases we’re talking about business travel that is absolutely essential to the future prospects of companies and workers who are trying to make ends meet,” said John Murphy, a senior vice-president at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Since March 2020, the Canadian and U.S. governments have limited cross-border trips to essential travel, renewing the policy on the 21st of every month. However, enforcement of the rules has been arbitrary and a headache, especially for companies doing cross-border business, said Dennis Darby, the president and CEO of industry group Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters.

It’s especially been a pain for his members, Darby said, who, in normal times, regularly go back and forth to carry out business operations. With border uncertainties, it can be hard for a U.S. technician to come to a plant in Ontario to service equipment, since that person may have to quarantine for two weeks before doing a job that takes a few days.

It goes the other way too, he said, noting businesses have to weigh whether it is “worth the hassle” and cost of, for example, sending engineers to the U.S. who might have to quarantine there and then again when they return.

The retail sector, upheld during the summer months by foreign credit cards, would also benefit from cautious reopening, said Marc Fortin, the Quebec president of the Retail Council of Canada. Stores, he said, need to know now if they should ramp up inventory, hire people and get cash from the bank. “What we’re asking for is to harmonize the measures for Canada and the U.S. to make sure that always, in a secure way, we can actually welcome American tourists.”

Article content

However, after the letter dropped, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau made clear at a news conference midday Tuesday that the government will not be making any concessions to current measures for at least a few days or weeks.

“I think we all understand that we want to get back to normal. We want to start traveling again,” Trudeau told reporters. “But it’s very clear that even though one dose has allowed us to significantly protect Canadians… it is still an incomplete protection and we need people to get the full two doses of their vaccines.”

Reuters, though, reported the U.S. will announce Tuesday that the White House will establish working groups with Canada, Mexico, the U.K. and the EU to configure safe reopening plans.

Hyder, the BCC president, said easing restrictions for vaccinated people could be a good move for the government to implement as soon as possible. “We think that will not only create economic activity and social activity, but it will encourage more people to get vaccinated with both their vaccines sooner.”