The Republican sent a letter to Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas on Thursday citing how Canadians can fly into the U.S. but the opposite is not true for Americans. She says the current restrictions are not “fully synchronized or equitable for U.S. citizens.”
“I urge you to unilaterally begin easing the restrictions for non-essential travel into the U.S. across the northern border. Immediate actions should include expanding the list of exempted travelers to include family members and extended family members; Canadians with property, boats, or leased campsites in the U.S.; and business representatives with business dealings in the U.S., while beginning a phased reopening to the broader public,” Stefanik said in the letter.
Source: Stefanik: Canadian border closure not ‘equitable’ for US citizens
I have been aware of this asymmetry for some time. Canadians can fly to and from the U.S., but almost all U.S. citizens are banned from entering Canada.[1]
- Just 20% of Canadians are vaccinated – yet they can come to the U.S. In fact, many Canadians flew to the U.S. to get vaccinations for Covid-19 that were not yet readily available in Canada!
- About 65% of Americans have at least one dose – but they cannot travel to Canada.
Why?
This is a political restriction based arbitrarily on nationality and has nothing to do with the disease. Nothing at all.
I have seen many Youtube travel videos from people who seem to go through border restrictions around the world.
But most U.S. citizens have been prohibited from travel to the EU and are barred from entry to Canada.
Yet Canadians can readily fly to the U.S., while Americans can not do the opposite.
I have a friend who is a U.S. airline captain – his girlfriend is in Montreal and he’s been barred from traveling up there for over a year.
I know a young dual nationality individual (U.S. and Germany) who moved last year to the Netherlands (for marriage) at a time when U.S. citizens could not (and still cannot) travel. But since she had an EU passport (also a U.S. passport) she could freely travel to the EU, and then back to the U.S. on her U.S. passport.
Meanwhile, others figured how to game the system.
Continue reading Still no time table on re-opening the U.S.-Canada border →