Trudeau Says Canada Will Be ‘Cautious & Responsible’ When Reopening The Border
The PM is facing calls from officials to reopen the Canada-U.S. border immediately.🇨🇦
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada will take a "cautious and responsible" approach to reopening the Canada-U.S. border, to avoid what could be an "unbelievably costly" fourth wave of COVID-19.
Speaking at a press conference on July 14, Trudeau responded to calls from state legislators to restart travel between the two countries immediately.
"We're not through this pandemic yet," he told reporters on Wednesday.
"We still have to be careful," he said. "We've seen places have to roll back into restrictions and as eager as people are to open up, I know nobody wants to have to go backwards."
The PM said federal officials will continue to take a "cautious and responsible" approach to reopening Canada's borders and intend to "take things step by step."
"So yes we will be making announcements about the next phases and next steps of reopening," he confirmed, noting that the recent easing of travel restrictions for fully vaccinated Canadians has gone "extremely well."
Trudeau concluded that updates related to Canada's borders would come in "due course," but said moving too quickly could result in an "unbelievably costly and heartbreaking" fourth wave of COVID-19.
Canada's ban on non-essential travel with the United States is set to end on July 21, although this has been extended 15 times before.
Officials have previously suggested that any loosening of travel restrictions between the two countries would be focused on those who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19.