Ottawa looking at how to reunite families separated by border closure, says Trudeau
Already, New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs is voicing his issues.
Higgs, whose province had appeared to have COVID-19 in control after a stretch of days without new situations however is currently experiencing a new flare-up, stated the problem was elevated throughout Thursday evening’s once a week phone call with the head of state and the premiers.
“Something that was a little concerning last evening in connection with the government telephone call, was a conversation concerning opening the U.S. border for even more activity with friends and family,” he told the CBC morning radio program in Fredericton.
The Canada-U.S. boundary offer was very first agreed to in March and has actually been expanded till June 21. But Higgs claimed Thursday night’s phone call recommends something remains in the benefit households quicker than that.
“This isn’t discussing completion of June … it was like, ‘‘ Oh, well, in the coming days as well as weeks.’ So I’ve asked for really clarity on what that implies because that supplies another aspect of concern for us,” he claimed.
“That problems me with our boundaries right here with Maine. If you think about us being six to 7 hrs from Boston and also 10 hours from New York City, it’s just exactly how prevalent is this?”
The border continues to be under government territory, yet Higgs said he really hopes Ottawa listens to the provinces’ issues.
“It puts me in an extremely hard setting,” he stated.
Trudeau claimed he’ll continue to review changes at the boundary with premiers.
“There are a number of premiers that feel that, for factors of concern, we must and also could move on with this procedure. There are others that shared a specific quantity of concern about it,” he claimed.
“We will certainly remain to involve with them. We will certainly continue to look into this matter and guarantee that regardless of what we do, we are keeping the safety and well-being of Canadians at the forefront of any kind of decision.”
“That concerns me with our borders here with Maine. If you think of us being six to seven hours from Boston and 10 hours from New York City, it’s just how widespread is this?”
The border remains under federal jurisdiction, but Higgs said he hopes Ottawa listens to the provinces’ concerns.
“It puts me in a very difficult position,” he said.
Trudeau said he’ll continue to discuss changes at the border with premiers.
“There are a number of premiers who feel that, for reasons of compassion, we should and could move forward with this measure. There are others that expressed a certain amount of concern about it,” he said.
“We will continue to engage with them. We will continue to look into this matter and ensure that no matter what we do, we are keeping the safety and well-being of Canadians at the forefront of any decision.”