WASHINGTON — Fully vaccinated Canadians were once again paying long-awaited visits to loved ones, vacation properties, and tourist destinations in the United States on Monday as southbound travel restrictions finally began to ease along the world's longest unmilitarized land border.
Shortly after midnight, Customs and Border Protection agents began letting fully vaccinated vacationers, visitors, and day-trippers drive into the U.S. for the first time since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
"Today marks the day that loved ones who have been separated for the past 19 months will finally be reunited. That is very, very significant," said Rep. Brian Higgins, a New York congressman who has been urging the White House for months to end the restrictions.
But Monday was a day that was too long in coming, considering how long highly effective COVID-19 vaccines have been publicly available in both countries, Higgins added.
"The United States and the Canadian governments failed their people in developing a consistent communication strategy relating to the very thing that all of us have been admonished to do, and that is follow the science, follow the facts, follow the data."
In a statement, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security acknowledged the new rules and warned visitors it might take a while to get through.
"Long lines are expected in the initial days following pent-up demand, and CBP will adjust resources as needed," the agency said.
"Travellers are advised to expect longer-than-normal wait times, familiarize themselves with the new guidelines, and have appropriate documentation ready during a border inspection."
By 9 a.m. ET, passenger traffic delays at the busiest Canada-U.S. crossings were mostly only a few minutes, although the wait at the Peace Bridge between Buffalo and Niagara Falls reached more than two hours shortly after the new rules took effect.
Robert Restaino, the mayor of Niagara Falls, N.Y., said the energy was palpable among businesses in his city over the weekend as they prepared to welcome a new cascade of visitors.
"They realize what this is going to mean to their respective businesses, as we sort of move into the holiday season. They're very excited about it," Restaino said.
But Higgins, Restaino, and others, including community leaders on the Canadian side, know the full effect won't be apparent until Canada does away with requiring proof of a costly COVID-19 test to get back into the country.
"As long as we continue with this last wrinkle," Restaino said, "we won't see the full appreciation of just how much the communities on both sides of this river really do count on one another."
Indeed, the PCR test requirement — an expense of $150 to $300 per test for each family member — is keeping plenty of people at home, said Marcella Picone, a resident of Buffalo, N.Y., and member of the Facebook group "Families are Essential."
"There's still barriers," Picone said.
"Yes, the U.S. has done the right thing; they're not asking for a COVID test for land entry, so they are easing the restrictions. But now, obviously Canada needs to step up and eliminate their PCR tests."
The Canada Border Services Agency issued a statement last week reminding would-be travellers that proof of a negative test, taken no more than 72 hours before travel, is required to re-enter Canada, along with proof of vaccination.
Not only is the expense discouraging people from travelling, it's a self-defeating measure that does little to improve public safety, said Perrin Beatty, a former federal cabinet minister who now serves as CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
"It just makes no sense," Beatty said in an interview.
He pointed to the federal government's own rule that says if a trip to the U.S. will be less than 72 hours long, travellers can get their test done in Canada before they leave and use the same results when returning to the country.
"Who is protected by that? All this does is to waste money and waste people's time."
It also creates what Beatty calls "friction" along a border where people are supposed to be able to cross freely, "but where the cost and administrative hassle is so great that people just give up."
"The friction has essentially meant that the gains that the Canadian tourism sector were hoping to achieve when Canada opened the borders to people coming north just never materialized."
The new land border rules take effect as the U.S. also begins requiring foreign nationals who are visiting by air to be fully vaccinated before boarding their flights.
As of Monday, U.S.-bound air passengers are required to show proof of vaccination as well as a negative COVID-19 test that's no more than 72 hours old for fully immunized travellers, and 24 hours in the case of unvaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
The U.S. Travel Association estimates that inbound international travel produced $239 billion in export income and directly supported 1.2 million American jobs.
"After nearly two years of restrictions, Monday begins in earnest the return of international travel, when long-separated families and friends can safely reunite, travellers can explore this amazing country, and the U.S. is able to reconnect with the global community," association president Roger Dow said in a statement.
"It is a monumental day for travellers, for the communities and businesses that rely on international visitation, and for the U.S. economy overall."
The association figures the pandemic has cost the U.S. some $300 billion in foregone export income and more than a million jobs, with travel levels not expected to return to 2019 levels until 2024 at the earliest.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2021.
James McCarten, The Canadian Press
