Canada's NDP

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July 13th, 2020

Statement on extending the border closure

NDP Critic for Health, Don Davies, made the following statement:

"As pressure increases to open the border with the US, the Canadian government needs to be clear with their US counterparts that the number one priority must be the health and safety of Canadians.

The news coming out of the US is troubling. There are COVID-19 flare-ups all over the country and, in many states, the number of cases is growing at an alarming rate.

This makes it dangerous and unwise to re-open the border at this time.

Canadians have made a lot of progress flattening the curve by listening to public health advice over the past months. Re-opening the border prematurely will jeopardize all that we have gained to date.

The closure of the border to discretionary travel while allowing trade shipments, commerce, and essential workers to continue to move in both directions has been crucial to containing COVID-19.

The Canadian government needs to extend the border closure for as long as this measure is needed to keep Canadians safe."