Border towns favour continued travel restrictions

The mayors of two New Brunswick border communities say most of their residents are in no rush to increase the flow of traffic to and from the United States.

"We've been very concerned about keeping our community safe," said Woodstock mayor Arthur Slipp.

Likewise, St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern estimated that about 90 per cent of residents of his town would be in favour of continuing the current restrictions.

The Canada-US border remains closed to non-essential travel until at least Oct 21. 

But Maine and New Hampshire are urging the Trump administration to re–evaluate border restrictions.

Their senators are asking for restrictions to be assessed on a local basis. They claim the risk of significant cross-border transmission of COVID-19 is low. 

The State of Maine reported 47 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday and nearly 400 confirmed new cases in the past 14 days. 

Only 12 of the cases during the past two weeks have been in the border counties of Aroostook and Washington.

Still, Slipp said he feels it's "very fortunate" there have been no major outbreaks along the border yet.

That kind of event would present greater difficulties for contact tracing, he said.

MacEachern echoed the idea that there are not sufficient resources to support increased travel across the border at this time.

Canada Border Services said it cannot provide provincial data, but in total, land crossings into Canada from the United States are down significantly. 

Last week's, for example, were down 83 per cent compared to the same period last year.

Truck traffic however, is up.

Canada-wide, 125,351 trucks entered the country from the U.S. at land crossings between Oct. 5 and Oct. 12. During the same week last year, 122,109 entered.

Slipp said his town is a hub for the trucking industry and he's not sure people realize how much traffic is still flowing across the border.

There are also many Mainers in the farming industry, he said, who are allowed to cross to pick up parts for their equipment or to have equipment serviced.

"You have to be very vigilant they don't do other business while here," said Slipp.

Likewise, Canadians who work in health care in Maine are still crossing regularly, he said, as are people who work in other designated essential industries who have mailboxes on the American side.

"That's been one of the concerns that our citizens are wondering about," the mayor said.

Slipp added, however, that business leaders in his community and surrounding areas are also concerned about their sales figures and whether they'll have enough staff and personal protective equipment for the upcoming Christmas shopping season.

Without a doubt, he said, economies on both sides of the border are suffering from the decline in cross-border business.

MacEachern said that's not the case in St. Stephen.

Most local businesses, he said, are doing better in the absence of cross-border shopping.

That includes downtown shops, restaurants and supply stores.

"As a whole, we're doing OK," said MacEachern.

One exception, he said, is the Garcelon Civic Centre, which typically attracts large crowds from Maine for sports and entertainment events.

And for some people who have close friends and family across the border, the end of pandemic restrictions can't come soon enough. 

MacEachern said it's been a challenge for many people to maintain their social connections.

He said those challenges were obvious at a wedding last weekend on the waterfront.

A ceremony was held on the wharf in St. Stephen, and "the Calais people" had to sit on the wharf on the American side or in boats in the St. Croix international waterway.

"It does pull at the heartstrings," MacEachern said.