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The PM has just announced that effective immediately the border will be closed to all nonessential travel. Commercial traffic will continue to move in both directions. Those Canadians who work in the USA and cross daily will have to make individual arrangements with their US employer, to get official permission from USBP to cross to go to work.
I'm not sure. Wouldn't preventing travel for a year or more be economic suicide? We're just trying to flatten the curve.
Economic suicide is fully underway in the USA. I would imagine it is north of the border too. A decision has been made throughout the western world to accept a massive depression in order to save lives. History will judge us for the outcome. If the results are war, poverty and revolutions then it will clearly say we are wrong. We will see.
Well, the thing is, right now nobody is sure of anything, right? Everyone around the world is/will be taking an economic hit and all we can do about it is suck it up.
I think when it's been determined safe enough to resume world wide international travel then it will be safe enough to resume cross border travel too.
WE as a country have to maintain our commercial trade, but we also have to maintain a strong medical defense position . It has to be a balance, between keeping essential businesses running ( resources , manufacturing , and transportation ) versus public health and safety.
Those Canadian companies that are closing for 2 weeks are whistling past the graveyard. They will have to extend their closures by months . The Canadian Independent Business Council predicts that about 35 percent of small business operators will be forced to go out of business, if they are closed for 2 months or more . They cannot meet their fixed costs like loans , amounts owed to suppliers insurance, utilities, insurance and property taxes, if they have no cash coming in. Wholesale suppliers of food, and other commodities will suffer if their customer base is mostly closed. Farmers and produce growers will also suffer, if the food industry is mostly shut down. Imagine how many potatoes McDonalds buys every month ? Or cups, napkins or toilet paper ?
Individuals will also find that their lay off periods will be extended by at least a few months. If your company makes windows and doors, the orders are not going to be coming in. Commercial truck sales will be affected, as will the sale of agricultural equipment. If people are living on a reduced income, will they be buying a new stove or TV ? Probably not. The recreation industry will suffer. So will the hotel industry.
In short, the Canadian economy across the board will contract.
WHO assessment team sent to China has confirmed again and again that border closures (on a city, state, country level) have questionable impact on the spread of disease, especially implemented after there is viral outbreak on a local and international level. For example, in the city of Wuhan, China, the central government implemented city-wide containment and closure on January 21. Upon announcement, 5-6 million Wuhan residents fled the city before quarantine measures were implemented, thereby effectively nullifying the whole point of the quarantine in the first place. The same can be said for Canada and the U.S., especially since we are already seeing community transmissions (transmissions between people on a local level within a neighborhood or small area of a town/city).
At this point, border closures are really made for political posturing and there is no empirical evidence on its actual effectiveness when it comes to public health. They are more political statements to show the public that the government - any government - is doing "something" to calm sentiments.
As a regular visitor to Canada, I wish the best of health to all of you north of the border. I was just there for almost the entire month of February. The plan was to return today for another two weeks. This is going to be painful for me, because I will be separated from someone I love, as well as a couple of animals who own a piece of my heart.
I thought this was coming. I briefly considered going up before the restriction was put in place, but I don't want to carry anything into my "alternate universe", either.
None of us know how long this will last. Just please be safe, everybody.
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