Rep. Higgins pressuring U.S. officials to take action to reopen U.S.-Canada border
WKBW
and last updated 2021-05-01 09:05:27-04
BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) â Rep. Brian Higgins (N.Y.-26) is pressuring the Department of Homeland Security to take action to reopen the United States-Canada border to non-essential travel.
The border is closed to non-essential travel until May 21 and has been closed for over a year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
âWe have been dealing with coronavirus, first SARS, then MERS, now COVID-19, for 18 years now and we could see variants for years to come, Rep. Higgins said. People living on either side of the U.S. â Canada border have already lost a year of time with their loved ones and they should not have to wait one more day. The U.S. can and should take immediate action to allow family members to be together again.â
Biden Continues America First, Shuts Out Canada
Despite warmth and goodwill between the Trudeau government and the Biden administration, experts say improved diplomacy is unlikely to mean more economic opportunity for Canada.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden issued a Roadmap for a Renewed U.S.-Canada Partnership following their videoconference meeting on Feb. 23. They announced their shared priority to end the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerate the economic recovery of small and medium-sized businesses, and strengthen “supply chain security” between the two countries.
However, so far the Biden administration has been less than accommodating. On his first day in office, Biden revoked the permit for the 1,947-kilometre Keystone XL pipeline, which would have carried 830,000 barrels of crude oil daily between Hardisty, Alberta, and Steele City, Nebraska. Later in January he announced new Buy American provisions for federal procurement. And on March 1, White Ho
Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Even though it was President Joe Biden’s first major engagement with a foreign leader, his virtual summit with Justin Trudeau attracted little attention in the U.S. media. CNN was consumed by the Tiger Woods car crash. The network didn’t even bother to cut to Mr. Biden’s statement.
The Washington Post put the story on page 14. It wrote off the bilateral meeting as “a symbolic rebooting of neighbourly relations.”
There’s nothing terribly unusual about this. Much to the chagrin of our prime ministers, greater priorities weigh on the presidents.
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The federal Conservatives call for the creation of a special committee that will “examine and review all aspects of the economic relationship between Canada and the United States” during Parliament Thursday.