THUNDER BAY – Kenora MP Eric Melillo and Kenora-Rainy River MPP Greg Rickford are joining a growing chorus of Northwestern Ontario representatives questioning continued restrictions on fully-vaccinated individuals at the Canada-U.S. border.
A federal announcement made Monday that will ease testing and quarantine rules as of July 5 – but only for those already allowed to enter Canada – was only “a very small step” in the right direction, said Melillo.
“It’s really doing nothing to support tourism and get that industry going again,” he said, asserting that the health risk from those fully vaccinated is minimal.
Most restrictions at the border will remain in place until at least July 21.
Minister of Health and Thunder Bay-Superior North MP Patty Hadju was tight-lipped Monday about when further reopening could occur.
While she said the decision would be based on COVID-19 metrics in Canada and internationally, the government has not publicly set out any goal posts to guide the decision.
Without clear metrics, Melillo raised concerns that what should be a public health decision would be influenced by political considerations.
“Part of the frustration is just the lack of clarity around what the plan is to reopen,” he said. “That’s what we’ve been asking for – show us the plan, be transparent about [it], and they’ve failed to do so. That’s really the frustrating part, and that’s what leads a lot of people to think it’s a political decision.”
The government needs to “get their act together” on the issue, said Rickford.
“I think what people want to hear is more certainty from the federal government around what they propose to do. Operators deserve the federal government to enunciate a plan.”
Rickford declined to comment on whether he believed it was now safe to open the border to fully-vaccinated tourists, saying it was a federal decision.
However, he was unsure why rules would need to be different for fully vaccinated Americans versus fully-vaccinated Canadians.
It’s a point also made this week by Hajdu’s Liberal colleague, Thunder Bay-Rainy River MP Marcus Powlowski.
“I think the fact they're not opening the border a little sooner to fully-vaccinated Americans is a little disappointing," Powlowski said in an interview Monday.
He added, however, that he understood the urge to be cautious.
The issue has particular resonance in the Northwest, where the economy is heavily reliant on American tourists.
“Our economy has just been devastated since the pandemic, there’s no other way to put it,” Melillo said. “I’ve heard a lot of concerns from tourist camps that they might not make it through the summer, I’ve heard from other businesses as well – restaurants and others who’ve had to close.”
While he welcomed the end of Ontario’s restrictions at the Manitoba border, the bulk of tourism clientele comes from the U.S.
The federal government announced sector-specific support for tourism operators in its recent budget. With the implementation act passing this week, Melillo said he’d be watching to see how that support will be rolled out.
It’s important the process to access support is simple and flexible, he said, suggesting seasonal businesses like fly-in fishing camps previously had difficulty.
Powlowski agreed in his comments Monday.
"If we're going to be cautious for the sake of Canada as a whole, we ought not to leave all the costs of that being borne by the tourism industry,” he said. “We ought to be doing more to assist them."
