A message from Gary Morrison
Hi Katrina,
The new Biden Administration is negotiating border rules with Canada’s Bill Blair (Minister for Public Safety) right now. If there was ever a time to nudge our own MPs to contact Bill Blair and apply some flexibility for Point Roberts this summer then right now is the time (I mean today/tomorrow). The feds are also planning an election soon so they will be more collaborative than provincial politicians. I suggest signing and forwarding the attached petition letter to Bill Blair (best done by asking your local MP to forward it to Bill’s office or you can email it directly to Bill.Blair@parl.gc.ca).
For reference here is the Biden policy on border access controls just announced plus link to his policy:
“(c) Land Travel. The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of HHS, the Secretary of Transportation, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the Director of CDC, shall immediately commence diplomatic outreach to the governments of Canada and Mexico regarding public health protocols for land ports of entry. Based on this diplomatic engagement, within 14 days of the date of this order, the Secretary of HHS (including through the Director of CDC), the Secretary of Transportation, and the Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit to the President a plan to implement appropriate public health measures at land ports of entry. The plan should implement CDC guidelines, consistent with applicable law, and take into account the operational considerations relevant to the different populations who enter the United States by land.”
https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/National-Strategy-for-the-COVID-19-Response-and-Pandemic-Preparedness.pdf
The following is a letter created for the support of innovative/pilot land border regulations to manage covid-19 rules at Point Roberts Washington.
https://mcusercontent.com/50311052eb2c1e60cf881213f/files/9bb2b0b0-cd7d-4879-8348-a59085ff0f79/Proposed_Point_Roberts_Border_Exemption_2021_01_21_v1.pdf
-Gary