silversand wrote:
MDKMDK:
I agree completely with every one of your points. We are banking (er, the right word?) on the US side opening for Canadians by October/November, regardless what Canada does. What would it matter to Canada anyway, as only Canadians would be allowed back into Canada under that new reciprocity. I hope that the "concept" of (strict) land border reciprocity drastically evolves, in light of the "one covid plan fits all" approach that Canada has taken up till today, with absolutely no hint of engaging the US side (border opening) proposals already on the table.
And, I agree that a near-term "vaccine" is not a guarantee, and because of this, a Plan B to open the land border(s) has to be done now. I think there has been too much foot-dragging on this front "up here".
We had booked our return to the US (Florida) during the "pandemic", when we were assured by our health insurance company that they would honor our policy no matter what, and were, um, forced to return at end of March (despite our Florida community and management practicing fairly strict pandemic protocols quite before a pandemic was "declared"). We were supposed to be back this November, however, because of refund rules, I had to prune-off November and December, and fall back to 2021 January to March (grrr !).
We're in a similar holding pattern, having planned for our winter trip to begin in December, and run to end of March, but the border closure has put it all on hold. We had to cancel our plans last winter for some unexpected medical issues (refund rules considered), but were prepared to pick up where we left off this year, and then CV19 happened.
So, it's wait and see. Just got a flyer from our local MP, and she says in it that the border isn't likely to open soon, essentially "out of fear" of the number of CV19 cases (with very few fatalities or ICU trips) in the US, and that they "have to protect the safety of Canadians" during the pandemic, which I personally believe is categorically false. It's up to the individual to decide what's right or acceptable for themselves. On one hand, I'd like them to stop treating us like children, and on the other, I actually wish they'd treat everyone like children, because they're almost immune to the virus. We could just get on with life again. We've got to stop being treated like we don't know how to take care and reasonable precautions towards not getting sick from this virus, like we do for seasonal colds and flus. Your point about a "one size fits all" solution to all these complex issues, is bang on. It simply doesn't work. The foot dragging up here has been another puzzling aspect of the border traffic issue.
Anyway, keep your fingers crossed and maybe we'll see a unilateral border opening. You're right about the return to Canada part. A 2 week stint in quarantine is a small price to pay for a few months in the sun. The alternative is a seemingly endless virtual quarantine, stuck in Canada in the snow.
