‘UNPRECEDENTED’ CLOSURE
Border restrictions expected to hit every facet of Windsor’s economy
As a border-hugging city that has long enjoyed big economic and social benefits from its proximity to Detroit, Windsor can expect to be hit hard as its international bridge and tunnel connections become no-go zones for tourists, shoppers and other non-essential travellers.
“This is a serious situation, the likes of which we have never seen before,” said Mayor Drew Dilkens. “I think everyone in Windsor-essex knows how important the border is to us, economically and socially.”
In a rapidly evolving response by governmental and health officials to the growing global threat posed by COVID-19, Ottawa and Washington on Wednesday announced one of the next steps would be to restrict travel by tightening their borders.
Commercial trade and essential goods and services will continue to flow, the national leaders emphasized.
But, what happens to the thousands of Canadian and American day-trippers for whom a quick border hop to fuel up in Detroit, visit friends and family, or shop at Devonshire Mall is now on indefinite hold?
“This is going to be a massive hit on every sector of our economy. Certainly, on the tourism front, it all halts,” said Dilkens.
Caesars Windsor, the single biggest draw for tourists visiting Windsor and Essex County, was already closed, and festivals, concerts, sporting and school events for March Break and beyond had already been nixed. But, closing the border now to “non-essential” travel only adds to the growing economic misery being felt by many.
“It’s already had a huge impact,” said Dharmesh Patel, Windsor regional chairman for the Ontario Restaurant Hotel & Motel Association.
“Our members, obviously, are petrified, and they can’t do anything about it,” he said, warning there’s “a very strong possibility” of local businesses closing.
March Break — “one of our key weeks” — is a bust, and Patel, who is also general manager of the Quality Inn in Leamington, said area hotels, usually booked solid in the spring during bird migration season, are already processing May reservation cancellations.
“Our tourism industry is shutting down, in effect — it’ll have a huge impact,” said Gordon Orr, CEO of Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island.
Tourism Windsor Essex Pelee Island has pulled all its tourism marketing spending for now, waiting on the hoped-for eventual coronavirus all-clear. “We recognized that when this is all over, we’ll double our efforts,” said Orr.
Because of the close local ties and integrated regional economies linking both sides of the border, “we’re seeing and experiencing a lot more pain here than elsewhere — this impacts us more than other (Canadian) cities,” said Rakesh Naidu, president and CEO of the Windsor-essex Regional Chamber of Commerce.
While some might see the current measures as “aggressive or draconian,” Naidu said the business community recognizes the need to quickly conquer COVID -19 and start the recovery.
“People don’t know how long they’ll have to dip into reserves or whether those reserves will last — that’s the question being asked,” he said.
Dilkens, Patel and Naidu all emphasized the need for citizens to follow the instructions of health authorities to help prevent the further rapid spread of the coronavirus.
U.S. President Donald Trump, who first tweeted about the border tightening Wednesday morning, said the new restrictions could last a month, but at a later news conference in Ottawa, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the measures will last “as long as it is necessary.”
For Windsor, said Dilkens, “it’s going to be a tough several weeks to several months.”
There should be no effect on the thousands of nurses and healthcare workers who live in Windsor and commute to work at Detroit hospitals and clinics. Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said Canadians and Americans who cross the border daily to work in the health sector and “other essential services” will continue to be able to do so.
By late afternoon Wednesday, there appeared to still be confusion over when the new border-crossing restrictions actually start. According to a source, Detroit-based U.S. border officials were still waiting for guidance from Washington, D.C., over exactly who can or can’t cross.
Motorists were still being allowed entry into the Windsor-detroit tunnel, but local officials were urging those who didn’t have to cross to refrain from doing so.