When do you think the border will reopen?

[pigletto]

There is no way to say for sure , but I’m thinking the tariffs that were just imposed on Canadian aluminum and steel could be retaliatory for not opening our border. We are under mounting pressure to do so. I know there is a history with the current US administration and these tarrifs but I think it’s interesting that they are being imposed again now, right after our PM made a speech saying we would not be pressured into opening our borders.
I have a feeling we will be leaned on more the longer we keep it closed.

 

[tinkerone]

https://news.paxeditions.com/news/other/us-lifts-global-level-4-health-advisory
Just read this article. I wonder if Canada will lift the level 4 do-not-travel advisory? Maybe that means passport offices will reopen? If it does drop the level 4, does that mean we can no longer cancel flights to the US for credits?

I don’t think one relates to the other. The US is in a mess and I don’t see a lot of countries saying since they say their citizens can come here, let’s just let them in. There is no way their going anywhere until they get covid under control. When even Mexico is shutting them out, there’s an issue.

 

[hdrolfe]

https://news.paxeditions.com/news/other/us-lifts-global-level-4-health-advisory
Just read this article. I wonder if Canada will lift the level 4 do-not-travel advisory? Maybe that means passport offices will reopen? If it does drop the level 4, does that mean we can no longer cancel flights to the US for credits?

You can mail in your passport application, offices are open by appointment only and if you are travelling within 30 days (which no one is unless it's essential services). I believe there is quite a backlog of applications though, so am waiting before sending in kiddo's. Plus I need his picture done and am not even sure where to get that done, especially wish masks being mandated in Ottawa.

Not sure about the rest of your questions. I hope they keep it closed longer... I haven't officially cancelled my December cruises yet because I am hoping the cruise line will and then I'll get OBC I have no intention of paying in full though (and lose my deposit whether I call and cancel or wait and just don't pay so it's no loss to wait at this point). Even my father thinks we should keep it closed, and we agree on very little politically at this point.

 

[bcwife76]

You can mail in your passport application, offices are open by appointment only and if you are travelling within 30 days (which no one is unless it's essential services). I believe there is quite a backlog of applications though, so am waiting before sending in kiddo's. Plus I need his picture done and am not even sure where to get that done, especially wish masks being mandated in Ottawa.

Not sure about the rest of your questions. I hope they keep it closed longer... I haven't officially cancelled my December cruises yet because I am hoping the cruise line will and then I'll get OBC I have no intention of paying in full though (and lose my deposit whether I call and cancel or wait and just don't pay so it's no loss to wait at this point). Even my father thinks we should keep it closed, and we agree on very little politically at this point.

You will only receive the 125% FCC if you are paid in full.

 

[hdrolfe]

You will only receive the 125% FCC if you are paid in full.

I'm not booked on Disney so not sure if that's the rules you are referring to but Carnival is giving either a refund or a FCC of what you have paid plus OBC.

 

[bcwife76]

I'm not booked on Disney so not sure if that's the rules you are referring to but Carnival is giving either a refund or a FCC of what you have paid plus OBC.

Oh sorry lol Sounds like Carnivals' policy is quite generous!!

 

[Donald - my hero]

A little humour from a Canadian Internet star - he refers to himself as The internet's Favourite Dad * (*unproven) You might recognize him from his Canada Day KFC Ad

 

[Reepicheep]

Yesterday (August 11) there were 4 coronavirus deaths in Canada and 1,504 coronavirus deaths in the US. Taking into account that the US has a population 8.8x Canada's population, this means that the US has a per capita death rate of 43x the Canadian death rate.

The border won't be reopening any time soon.

 

[wdwmom3]

Yesterday (August 11) there were 4 coronavirus deaths in Canada and 1,504 coronavirus deaths in the US. Taking into account that the US has a population 8.8x Canada's population, this means that the US has a per capita death rate of 43x the Canadian death rate.

The border won't be reopening any time soon.

Also I just read that in Ontario we are getting cases related to people traveling in the US. Hopefully these people followed the quarantine 100%. But honestly I don’t have that much faith everyone did.

 

[auntie60]

I live in a border town and spent most of my life in and out of canada. And i can honestly say we miss you guys over here in the USA. Stay safe and healthy.

 

[Kaadk]

Also I just read that in Ontario we are getting cases related to people traveling in the US. Hopefully these people followed the quarantine 100%. But honestly I don’t have that much faith everyone did.

Apparently the authorities are following up pretty diligently on this, at least here. This is one of those "I know a guy who knows a guy" stories, but according to the info I was given, a person who had to travel to the US for a specialized medical proceedure was contacted at least once a day by various authorities, whether that be calls from CBSA or visits by local Police, to make sure they were home for the full time of their quarantine.

 

[Reepicheep]

Apparently the authorities are following up pretty diligently on this...

I can't remember where I came across the following article, perhaps someone posted it earlier in this thread, in which case this is "old news". But it is a very interesting read.

*************************************

I'm in Canada, where the COVID police are watching, by Doyle McManus

For two weeks, we waited for the pandemic police to come.

In mid-July, my wife and I headed on vacation to a rustic cabin her father built 65 years ago on a small lake north of Toronto. Most Americans can’t visit Canada these days. Because of the coronavirus threat, both countries have closed their borders to nonessential traffic. But my spouse is a dual U.S.-Canadian citizen, so we were allowed in — as long as we agreed to quarantine ourselves for 14 days.

Not a symbolic, wear-a-mask-and-keep-your-distance-but-go-about-your-business quarantine; a real one — no venturing beyond the cabin and the dock. No shopping trips, no long walks, no visitors. And no swimming in the lake — a question I rashly asked one of the public health officers who telephoned almost every day to check on us...

I'm in Canada, where the COVID police are watching

 

[wdwmom3]

Yesterday (August 11) there were 4 coronavirus deaths in Canada and 1,504 coronavirus deaths in the US. Taking into account that the US has a population 8.8x Canada's population, this means that the US has a per capita death rate of 43x the Canadian death rate.

The border won't be reopening any time soon.

I also read we only had 289 new cases. Not sure what the US had, but I’m pretty sure it’s way more then 28,000 which would be 100x what we had

 

[csm101]

I already posted but i'll say it again...I don't see the borders opening until the New Year. It will keep getting pushed back in 30 day intervals. Also with the new Tariffs applied to Canada it will become a bargaining chip and a reason the keep the boarders closed. Wear a mask, social distance and the boarders may open sooner. Stay well all

 

[Pumpkin1172]

Honestly, I hope they keep them closed. It is just a mess with soooooo many things down there. If they open up the boarder, it will be interesting to see how much cases may spike. Then that would also give them the ammunition to shut it down, indefinitely until the US can get their po-op in a group and get the outbreak of the virus under control.

There are just sooooo many unknowns yet about the virus. They first said, that heat and light would help keep it from spreading...well THAT is definitely not happening - given the number of cases in Florida and Georgia. Is this virus going to be more like a flu, meaning that we could get sick with it more than once? Is the vaccine going to protect us like a vaccine for polio, measles, and all the other vaccines we get, or are we going to need to get a shot each year to keep up our immunity? There are already reports of people having contracted the virus twice. Which makes me think that a " vaccine " is not going to be as effective as health officials and public are hoping it will be. There are just sooo many unknowns about this.

 

[ilovetotravel1977]

And doesn't the Flu vaccine help you with not getting AS sick, not necessarily NOT sick?

I have never had a flu shot in my life and I never have the flu. I'm 95% sure I had COVID back in early April. I don't want to ever have that again and I'm sure my case was mild.

 

[mshanson3121]

There is no way to say for sure , but I’m thinking the tariffs that were just imposed on Canadian aluminum and steel could be retaliatory for not opening our border. We are under mounting pressure to do so. I know there is a history with the current US administration and these tarrifs but I think it’s interesting that they are being imposed again now, right after our PM made a speech saying we would not be pressured into opening our borders.
I have a feeling we will be leaned on more the longer we keep it closed.

Without getting too political, it wasn't Covid related, it was a re-election move.

 

[mshanson3121]

I live in a border town and spent most of my life in and out of canada. And i can honestly say we miss you guys over here in the USA. Stay safe and healthy.

I really do feel bad for the border towns. So many of them are struggling so badly due to the loss of Canadian shoppers. Though admittedly, not bad enough to open the borders.

 

[mshanson3121]

And doesn't the Flu vaccine help you with not getting AS sick, not necessarily NOT sick?

I have never had a flu shot in my life and I never have the flu.

The flu vaccine in some years is next to useless. It's effectiveness has been as low as 20%, and rarely is ever higher than 50-60%. And "effective" means helping to prevent or reduce symptom severity. So, as you said, it doesn't necessarily mean you won't get it. Also, a tidbit they rarely share publicly, is that studies show that getting the flu vaccine every year, can actually reduce it's effectiveness, especially against A-strain. From the CDC website:

Is it true that getting vaccinated repeatedly can reduce vaccine effectiveness?

A recent report examining studies from 2010-11 to 2014-15 concluded that the effectiveness of a flu vaccine may be influenced by vaccination the prior season or during many prior seasons (1). In some seasons, protection against influenza A(H3N2) virus illness may have been lower for people vaccinated in the current season and the prior season compared to those who had only been vaccinated in the current season. This fits with findings on immune response to vaccination that suggest repeated influenza vaccination can weaken immune response to vaccination and especially to the H3N2 vaccine component.

 

[Reepicheep]

I really do feel bad for the border towns. So many of them are struggling so badly due to the loss of Canadian shoppers. Though admittedly, not bad enough to open the borders.

I have fond memories, from my misspent youth back in the late 1970s, of going with my friends on a one hour drive from Lethbridge, Alberta to the border community of Sweet Grass, Montana for "Canada Days", when every bar in Sweet Grass sold beer to Canadians for $1 Canadian a can.