Point Roberts fire chief concerned for volunteers over border restrictions
The Point Roberts’ fire chief is concerned that during the COVID-19 pandemic some of his volunteer firefighters from B.C. are being denied by their employers from travelling across the border, despite a directive from health authorities that he says should allow them to do so.
There are about 25 volunteers from Canada who help out at the firehall in the small U.S. community just south of Tsawwassen that has a mostly elderly population.
Fire chief Christopher Carleton said in a note to several U.S. politicians Wednesday that after the border was shut to non-essential traffic, his community’s “enclave status” presents unique and escalating challenges in light of “hard” travel restrictions at Canadian borders.
The firehall depends on emergency services personnel from other parts of Whatcom County, Wash., as well as volunteers from Canada, to provide fire and emergency rescue services, he said.
“Some of my Canadian volunteers are being denied by their employers to travel to the U.S. regardless of the (B.C.) provincial health officer’s directive that exempts medical personnel from crossing the border to serve in this capacity,” said Carleton. “It is vitally important to my community that exceptions be granted by the Canadian government for my Canadian personnel without concern of repercussions.”
Carleton said some of his Canadian volunteers have been told by their employers that if they cross the border they’ll be self-quarantined for 14 days and denied pay. He identified Vancouver and the Burnaby as having employees who volunteer at his firehall who are being affected.
Vancouver said in an email Wednesday the city is committed to the health and protection of all Canadians and is following guidelines set by the Ministry of Health. It said the March 13 letter by provincial health officer Bonnie Henry mentions doctors, nurses and care aides as being exempted from self-isolation measures if they cross the border, but not volunteer firefighters.
“Our teams have reached out to the Ministry of Health for clarification on the above and will follow the ministry’s direction. In the absence of the clarification any City of Vancouver employee who returns from travel outside of Canada has been asked to self-isolate for 14 days,” the email said.
Patrick Grubb, publisher of a community newspaper in Point Roberts, said that something like 75-80 per cent of the property in Point Roberts is owned by Canadians, many of them vacationers.
“So if these people are not able to access their cabins, I can see there being huge real estate ramifications. I’d be surprised if any of the businesses can survive. The restaurants won’t be open and the gas stations, they depend on selling gas to Canadians. If they close it ( border) to non-essential (traffic), there will be no one to come down to get gas,” said Grubb.
There are about 1,300 residents who live in Point Roberts yearround, but the population jumps to over 5,000 in the summer, most of them Canadians.
Shelley Fralic, a former Vancouver Sun editor who has had a cabin in Point Roberts for eight years, said she’s “blessed” to have a cottage, but added she doesn’t need to go down there and can wait until the situation improves.
“What I’m worried about is the Americans not being able to come back across the border to get essential stuff,” she said.