Perhaps in July, Canada will re-open its border to travelers from and to the US. After criticism of the closed border with Canada intensified in the United States, Canadian officials began to consider its multi-stage reopening. The opening of the border would begin with the admission of fully vaccinated travelers, most likely in July.
Prime Minister Trudeau said Canada would finally take steps to ease border restrictions on fully vaccinated people. However, he did not add when it would happen.
The pace of US-Canadian talks has recently picked up speed. More and more people are vaccinated on both sides of the border, and frustration is growing that it remains closed.
The scenario that Canada is considering is the easing of restrictions on the border in stages.
The first stage would be to allow entry into Canada for vaccinated travelers who would have to present a negative Covid test to avoid quarantine.
If border restrictions are relaxed, the technical details that would have to be developed, such as proof of vaccinations that a traveler would have to have, become questionable. The question arises as to what the bilateral recognition of such certificates would look like and whether anything else would be required in addition to that.
It is possible that in the absence of compliance and technical harmony, a situation will arise that the restrictions on the border will be loosened, but both countries will require different documents and both countries will introduce different entry rules.
Confirming vaccination itself is a difficult political topic in the US. Some Republican governors have enacted laws to prohibit the requirement of proof of vaccination on their territories. President Joe Biden said he would not create a federal vaccine passport.
So, there is a good chance that Canada and the United States will have different standards at the border with regard to vaccination.
American politicians are increasingly appalled by Canada's slow approach to this topic. In the US, you hear voices saying it's not okay to let NHL players in and keep families apart from their loved ones. There are other voices saying that it is not fair to let Canadians get vaccinated in the US, while vaccinated Americans who have homes in Canada cannot go and even see them.
You can also hear in the US Senate that the US should unilaterally open the border on June 21 and allow Canadians who have US real estates, boats and business interests to cross the border and use US airports and travel further overseas.
According to statistics, Canada now has a higher percentage of the population vaccinated with the first dose of the vaccine, while the United States has the percentage almost 6 times higher of the population vaccinated with both doses. 53% of American adults are fully vaccinated, and life in the US is getting back to normal, including workplaces, bars, restaurants, sports events, and concerts that are increasingly full.
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