COUNTRIES BRACE FOR INCREASE IN TRAFFIC AS ECONOMIES REOPEN

Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland says Canada and the U.S. are working on plans to deal with what she calls an inevitable increase in cross-border traffic as economies in both countries emerge from their pandemic-induced comas. Freeland says traffic over the border is bound to increase as states and provinces reopen shuttered businesses and ease restrictions on mobility, even if the current Canada-U.S. ban on non-essential travel remains unchanged. That agreement, which has allowed essential workers and trade shipments to continue to move between the countries, was first imposed in March and is set to expire on May 21. Freeland says discussions about when and how to begin easing those restrictions are ongoing, both between Canada and the U.S. and between the federal government and the provinces.