VICTORIA -- On Thursday morning, Public Safety Minister Bill Blair announced over Twitter that the Canada and U.S. border would remain closed until at least June 21. The news came as Washington state prepares to reopen its economy by June 30.
The newly announced timelines are impacting businesses on both sides of the border.
"We are able to restart our domestic service," said David Gudgel, CEO of Clipper Vacations, which operates a ferry between Victoria and Seattle.
"That will commence on the 28th of May and we’re pretty excited about that, to see some activity," he said.
It's a glimmer of hope for the Clipper, but the company says that domestic services only amounts to roughly 10 per cent of it's total business. The rest of its income comes from international service between Seattle and Victoria, and that is still very much in flux.
Canada is beginning to see pressure from the U.S. to open up its border, or at least give an indication on some sort of a reopening plan.
In Blaine, Washington, people know how important Canadians are to its economy.
"A third of the economy for this entire county comes from Canadian dollars," said one woman in downtown Blaine.
In Blaine, the border can’t open up soon enough. The Rustic Fork restaurant relied on Canadians pre-pandemic for it’s survival.
"Certainty I think that’s the word that I’m looking for because they come and they spend their money," said Bianca Bitonti, manager of the Rustic Fork.
"The impacts have been pretty severe in terms of the retail sales and the economy here," said Senator Doug Erickson, 42nd Leg. District.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has suggested that he wants to see 75 per cent of Canadians vaccinated before reopening the Canada to U.S. border. Currently, we’re only at three per-cent fully vaccinated. That number came as a shock to Senator Erickson.
"I was a little bit shocked also when I saw the number of Canadians that were fully vaccinated," said Erickson.
Canada still has a long way to go in its vaccination rollout. In the meantime, businesses that rely on Canadians and cross-border travel want to know where they stand.
"What we’re looking for is some path forward and a plan, or at least some metrics, about where we need to be in order to start service again," said Gudgel. "Then we can start planning and communicate that to our staff who have been furloughed – and just have a better sense of whether or not we can start service again."
The Clipper says it wants to be in a competitive position and hit the ground running when the borders reopen.
