Land border expert weighs in on what reopening will look like

The date on which the land border between Canada and the U.S. is to reopen for non-essential fully vaccinated travellers has been set, and there are a lot more questions than answers on what crossing the border will look like.

Dr. Laurie Trautman, the director of the Border Policy Research Institute at Western Washington University, told Gormley she anticipates there being a lot of confusion during the first few weeks of people crossing the border.

“You can imagine the confusion that’s going to continue for quite some time until people figure out these rules,” Trautman said. “Canada has an app (to check proof of vaccination and) the U.S. still doesn’t really know exactly how they’re going to collect this information at the border.

“That could make things really messy and it makes things really confusing for the traveller.”

According to a report by The Canadian Press, mixed doses of COVID vaccines and AstraZeneca will be accepted.

Fully vaccinated people will not need to provide a negative test to go over the border, but they will need a negative test to get back into Canada.

Trautman believes adding requirements will continue to deter lots of people from travelling.

“We have come out of these restrictions in a completely unparalleled way,” Trautman said. “Canada, obviously, is way ahead of the U.S. with how their platform is developed. The U.S. does not have a similar approach.

“But if any two countries in the world can get this figured out, it’s Canada and the U.S.”

People looking to travel by air will have to show proof of vaccination upon arriving in the U.S., as well as a negative COVID-19 test taken within three days of boarding their flight.

These same rules will apply for air travellers coming to Canada from the U.S.

More details are expected to come out within the next few weeks.