President Joe Biden should end all COVID-related travel restrictions for Canadians visiting the United States, said U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer (R-MN) and other Republican members of the Minnesota delegation.
“Ongoing restrictions at our Canadian border are not supported by science or necessary for public health. They should have ended long ago,” Rep. Emmer said in an Oct. 6 statement. “Every day these unnecessary restrictions stay in place, Minnesota suffers. We must return to sanity and reinstate unobstructed travel across our northern border.”
Currently, travelers into Canada no longer need to provide proof of vaccination, undergo pre- or on-arrival testing, or quarantine if they are suspected of having come in contact with the COVID-19 virus, according to the congressmen’s letter sent to the president.
“Our government should follow suit,” they wrote. “Continued enforcement of unnecessary border restrictions is not only an egregious nuisance for travelers entering into the United States; it will also take a severe economic toll.”
Rep. Emmer and his colleagues noted that Canada is Minnesota’s closest trading partner, with cross-border trade valued at $720 billion prior to the pandemic.
“For the northern communities we represent, the costs of border restrictions are also deeply personal,” wrote the members. “Canadians are our neighbors; they purchase from local businesses and visit family in Minnesota. We fail to see why our friends on the other side of the northern border should be treated differently than we are.”
They also pointed out that the United States is the only country in North America to still have COVID-19 travel restrictions in place.
“This is inexcusable,” wrote the congressmen. “As we move on from the pandemic, it is long past time for the United States to join our partners to the north in fully opening the border.”
U.S. Reps. Pete Stauber (R-MN), Brad Finstad (R-MN), and Michelle Fischbach (R-MN) joined Rep. Emmer in signing the letter.