The closure of the Canada-U.S. border lasted for a further month, until September 21, with no plans to reopen.
The lack of a plan has led to a new complaint from the head of the country’s largest industrial organization in the northern region, which has members on both sides of the border.
“While another extension of the restrictions on border crossing was expected,” said Garry Douglas, president of the Northern Chamber of Commerce, “we are again disappointed that the governments of the United States and Canada have not yet developed a decision-making framework or plan for eventual reopening, and continue to show no interest in contemplating moderate intermediate measures such as relief from the family circle. Provide a provision for assets of owners near the border or some extension of essential commercial categories, for example.
“We will continue to push for such measures by September 21 with the Northern Border Caucus in Congress and with friends on both sides of the border,” Douglas said.
Commercial traffic has continued to circulate, but recreational traffic to Montreal and Toronto, two popular destinations in the capital region, remains banned as coronavirus continues to spread in the United States.
While the percentage of positive instances remains below 1% in New York State (0.8% on Thursday statewide, from 0.6% in the Capital Region to 10 counties, and only 0.3% in the northern country bordering Canada), the lack of a federal reaction, and persistent outbreaks in other states have led to the continuous closure of borders.
And although only three deaths were recorded Thursday in New York State, another 1,499 people died nationwide, according to the COVID-19 panel at Johns Hopkins University. While the United States had 55910 new cases, New York reported 727.
The trade flow “is very important for our region because it has maintained cross-border chains of origin, but the business is increasingly hampered by other means, because our binational brands cannot make their key workers so free and we cannot do things. like site visits, which block opportunities for economic progress,” Douglas said.