Built on the border of Blaine, Washington and Surrey, British Columbia, the Arch of Peace is a testament to the close ties between Canada and the United States.
The words “Never close those doors” are inscribed on one side, a reminder of the approximately 8,891 km (5,525 miles) of non-militarized border separating the two nations.
For nearly a hundred years, those words were heard, until the coronavirus pandemic closed the border indefinitely.
The closure came into force on March 21 and was approved by either government. After being extended several times during the summer, it remains in force until 21 August; at most, it is expected to continue again.
“I never thought I’d be sitting here in mid-August and that border is still closed,” says Len Saunders, a citizen who lives in Blaine.
“It turns out it happens over and over again.”
While the closure of the border has had a significant and non-public economic effect on the millions of people who live there or have enjoyed those on the other side, the vast majority of Canadians need it to remain closed.
A July survey conducted through Ipsos Reid found that 8 out of ten Canadians sought the border to close by at least the end of 2020.
And as the pandemic continued in the United States, so did tensions between American drivers and Canadian citizens.
Although not essential is prohibited, advertising drivers who deliver goods and other people crossing the border in essential facilities can cross.
Mr. Saunders, an immigration lawyer who has many clients crossing the border to work, says many other people are afraid.
“Everyone is afraid to drive their cars on the Lower Continent because of vandalism, dirty air and being treated like a ‘horrible American,'” he told the BBC.
One of his clients, an architect authorized to practice closure in Canada, says he was told to “go home” because of his car.
Tensions are so high that B.C. Prime Minister John Horgan has warned Canadians with U.S. license plates to take the bus or ride a bike instead.
In Ontario’s Muskoka domain, where many others have summer residences, hostility has attracted the attention of the police.
Ontario Provincial Police said a Canadian from the city of Huntsville filed a complaint after two men boarded him for his Florida license plate.
“More recently, this weekend, there was a guy heading to Huntsville and he was making fuel in his vehicle, and two gentlemen approached him and said, ‘You’re An American, he’s coming home.’ And he said, “I’m Canadian. I live here.” And they literally said, no, don’t show us your passport,” Phil Harding, mayor of Lakes Kuskoka, told CP24.
“They get a little aggressive and suck a little for their lives.”
Increased border security has led to significant arrests.
At Grand Forks, British Columbia, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police spent more than two hours chasing a guy who allegedly crossed illegally in a stolen vehicle on July 24 in a river. The “floating fighter” ended where the river narrowed, when the police, with the help of passers-by, had to enter the river and escort it to shore.
Charges are pending, but detainees for violating border restrictions may be fined up to C$750,000 ($566,000; $444,000) and six months in prison, or C$1 million and 3 years if their movements “result in imminent death or serious physical harm.”
These hefty fines are reserved for planned rulers.
On Wednesday, police warned Americans taking part in an annual flotation on the St. Clair River near the Michigan border that even an accidental crossing to Canada can result in a hefty fine. In 2016, a more reckless period, Canadian police escorted about 1,500 floats to the U.S. side after the winds diverted them out of their way.
However, the effects of border closure on small towns in any respect are negligible.
Before coronavirus, about 300,000 more people crossed the border every day, adding Canadians on day trips to malls or U.S. gas stations. And American tourists exploring the wonders of Niagara Falls.
Since March, non-commercial land border crossings to Canada have been reduced by 95%, according to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA).
“It’s going to be decimated there,” Saunders says.
But the economic effect on the final border for travelers is nothing compared to what would happen in Canada if some other wave of coronavirus imposed a momentary stoppage, says Ambarish Chandra, professor of economics at the University of Toronto.
“This holiday has a significant economic effect on the communities that travelers visit,” he says.
“But given the pandemic in the United States and the number of cases there, it makes sense to limit itself to the United States, potentially indefinitely.”
Professor Chandra said the government is providing assistance to border towns whose economies are heavily dependent on foreign tourism, but remain strong with the closure of borders until the end of the pandemic.
“In the long run, it’s much less expensive to rescue all Niagara Falls, Ontario, than to close Toronto for three or four weeks,” he says.
Restaurants have already been open for at least a few weeks in major cities, and so far cases continue to decline.
Meanwhile, the United States is watching for its epidemic, which peaked at 75,821 on July 17 and is registering about 40,000 new cases according to the day.
It is those figures that are fueling the unease of many Canadians with American travelers.
“Montana is directly south of us, lately he’s experiencing a momentary increase in cases, and I don’t regret who’s being held at the border, let’s say it this way,” said Jim Willett, mayor of Coutts. Alberta.
“I’m afraid if we open the border too soon, we’ll have more of a challenge like the one that’s happening in the south.”
His city is one of five border towns where U.S. citizens traveling to Alaska can enter Canada since CBSA took strong action against the so-called “Alaska Escape” last July.
Is the pandemic worsening in the United States?
Since Alaska has no borders with other U.S. states, Americans will have to drive through Canada, hence the “failure.”
After the border closed, many expressed fear that drivers were taking advantage of this loophole to explore some of the most scenic parts of the country, such as Vancouver Island and Banff Island, Jasper and Lake Louise.
In June, the RCMP issued seven bills worth $1,200 ($906, £694) to Americans who violated regulations while visiting Alberta.
“Don’t come in, come on. Go straight to Alaska,” Prime Minister Horgan said at a news convention in July.
Complaints about loopholes and lack of implementation led to repression.
Last July, the border government announced that travelers to Alaska had only limited ports of entry, they had to take the maximum direct address to their destination and demonstrate labels on their cars that identified them as U.S. drivers traveling to the northern state.
They are also limited to a “reasonable stay era” in Canada and are prohibited from visiting national parks, recreation sites and other tourist destinations, as regulatory violators are subject to severe penalties.
Since the strictest regulations were enacted, Willett says he is not “too concerned” about traffic crossing the border.
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