(File Photo/Christian Diotte, House of Commons Photo Services)

By CKOM News/paNOW

BORDER TALK

MP Hoback delighted to see border reopen, though some changes still needed

Oct 13, 2021 | 6:00 PM

The United States is almost ready to open the border for the first time in 20 months, and Prince Albert’s MPs has been waiting a long time for it.

MP Randy Hoback said he’s been working closely with politicians in the United States to open the border for weeks.

Just last week, Hoback and Brian Higgins, Congressman for Buffalo and Niagara Falls, issued a joint statement calling on the Biden Administration to allow fully vaccinated Canadians the option to drive to the U.S. Until Biden’s announcement Tuesday, travellers could only fly across the border.

Hoback said he still needs to learn about the finer details but noted that unvaccinated people will likely have to pay around $200 for a test to get back into Canada.

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“For the snowbirds going down into the U.S., that won’t be necessarily a big deal but for a day traveller, that could be a problem. For a family of four that went down, that would be $800 just to come back into Canada.”

While more details are expected to roll out in time for the November reopening, Hoback did note some things he does want to see change, including requiring a negative COVID test even if you’re fully vaccinated.

“They’ve got a lot of people in the northern States who like to come up and watch a hockey game and we have a lot of Canadians who like to drive into the U.S. for a weekend. It’s the same thing. I’d like to see that removed as soon as safely possible.”

The U.S. will not be requiring travellers to show proof of a negative test for COVID-19 as part of the new easing of restrictions.

Fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents have been allowed back into Canada since August, provided they have waited at least 14 days since getting a full course of a Health Canada-approved vaccine and can show proof of a recent negative COVID-19 test.

Travellers will be considered fully vaccinated if they have received a full course of a COVID-19 vaccine approved by either the U.S. Food and Drug Administration or the World Health Organization, which includes Oxford-AstraZeneca, a common vaccine in Canada that never received FDA approval.

–With files from The Canadian Press

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panews@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @princealbertnow