Border check stop to stay: Premier
AMHERST — Business organizations on both sides of the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border are calling for changes to the Atlantic bubble.
In a letter to Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil and New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, the Cumberland Business Connector, the Amherst and Area Chamber of Commerce and the Tantramar COVID-19 Task Force are urging the provinces to remove border stops at Fort Lawrence, N.S. and Aulac, N.B.
“While we support the Atlantic bubble, we are concerned that is has only been partially implemented. As you are both very much aware, the congestion, lineups and inconsistencies in crossing the border have been incredibly frustrating for our general population and business community,” says the letter, signed by Jonathan McClelland of the business connector, Ron Furlong of the Amherst chamber and task force co-chairs Carolle de Ste-Croix and David McKellar.
Instead of the checkpoints at the provincial border, the business representatives are suggesting border checks be focused on airports, harbours and the land borders with Quebec and Maine.
“When someone is entering Atlantic Canada, a common questionnaire across Atlantic Canada should be used which could also include asking where else in Atlantic Canada or the Magdalen Islands the traveller is visiting,” the letter said. “Copies of this information can be shared with each Atlantic Canadian province”
If tracking at borders is required, the letter suggests installing photo radar.
If there are localized outbreaks of COVID-19, the representatives suggest it be dealt with in localized areas such as what was done in Campbellton, N.B.
“The rest of Atlantic Canada should be treated as if it were one province. We cannot afford to shut down interprovincial travel in this manner again,” the letter said.
Speaking to the media on Friday, McNeil said he can’t see that happening.
“For everyone that wants us to remove them there’s someone who wants us to tighten them up,” the premier said. “We’re working hard to make that crossing as smooth as we can to ensure Atlantic Canadians who want to move around this region without any restriction can. But as long as we have the restrictions from outside the Atlantic bubble, we need to track those coming into our province.”
The business groups said approximately 1,500 workers from Westmorland County in N.B. travel outside the province for work while approximately 700 from Cumberland County leave Nova Scotia for work.
Also, 27 per cent of the student population at Mount Allison University in Sackville, N.B., is from Nova Scotia and Nova Scotia Comunity College’s Amherst and Springhill campuses attract approximately 20 per cent of their students from N.B.
“Many other students at Moncton universities and colleges commute from Amherst and Cumberland County. If the Atlantic bubble is not fully implemented, these institutions will likely see a dramatic decline in student enrolment,” the business representatives say in the letter.
On Thursday, Amherst Mayor David Kogon and John Higham of Sackville said lengthy waits at the border crossings show the bubble is not working.
The mayors said continued restrictions are negatively impacting businesses on both sides of the border.
The premier said the bubble is working, although he is open to suggestions from the mayors, business leaders and others.
“I’ve heard lots of positive things from individuals who have reconnected with families and businesses who have seen a change in customers coming in,” the premier said. “I don’t want to dismiss their concerns because they’re real. We’ve worked hard to have a smooth flow of traffic through there.”
On Friday, Nova Scotia PC Leader Tim Houston was joined by Cumberland North MLA Elizabeth SmithMcCrossin and Cumberland South MLA Tory Rushton in visiting workers meeting traffic coming into the province.
Houston is concerned with the failure to track those entering the province. He’s also concerned with the lineups and delays, especially for essential workers.
He said the province didn’t prepare for the opening of the bubble earlier this month.
“An idea that was suggested to us was to provide incoming vehicles with a windshield ticket with the day of their arrival and the day that their self-isolation would be complete,” Houston said.