Thought of the Day - October 18 2021 - Borderline News

As I am sure you are all aware, the US finally decided to announce that it will loosen restrictions on cross-border non-essential terrestrial crossings from Canada as of November 8th. That said, last week's announcement lacked many of the details that snowbirds, for one, need to know in order to plan their winter trips south.

While I have been critical of the US in delaying land border opening, suggesting it was because they still have no sensible policy for their southern border with Mexico, I am also thinking actually Canada hasn't been helping much.

You see although our Federal Government made announcements concerning a Canadian Vaccine Passport back in August, saying it will be available in early fall, the truth of the matter is that very little seems to have happened since ( Thought of the Day - August 16 2021 - Our Federal Vaccine Passport ). Instead, our politicians and civil servants have gotten sidetracked in the vaccine mandate quagmire - finally coming to the conclusion that rather than issue a vaccine passport for Federal Employees it would be legally more prudent to take the affidavit route (perjury makes a far more watertight case for dismissal). This has meant that rather than the US simply being able to say that Canadian passport holders who have been issued a Canadian Vaccine Passport are eligible to apply for entry to the US, they needed to make up the rules. The US policymakers have had to debate if they will allow non-US-approved vaccines, if they will allow US-approved vaccine doses that are not manufactured in the USofA, if they will allow all of the combinations of the previous - the list goes on.

I have heard the US CDC is now recommending accepting any of the "WHO Approved" vaccines, namely:

And of course, there is another Canadian-driven issue. Without a standard Canadian proof of vaccination, the US border folks will have their hands full, they need to be ready for the various bits of paper and QR images now being produced at the provincial level.

Meanwhile, Quebec, which has a significant number of snowbirds, anticipated and understood the ramifications of delayed Federal action and thus started granting third vaccinations for the travelling elite months ago, just in case.

I surely hope that our Federal departments have, as has this blog, been thinking about Vaccine Passports for over a year now, thus you would have thought that the Federal Vaccine Passports would be a reality by now ( Thought of the Day - March 10 - BC Vaccine Registration Underway ), but don't hold your breath.

Cheers

Cliff

P.S. Don't forget that you still need a negative test to fly to the US (I guess there is less fresh air on a plane than on a ferry, train or bus), and so, once the initial anarchy is over, if you still wish to visit the US, maybe going by land over the border and then flying may prove to be the most cost-effective.