Cross-border families ask for compassion with costly COVID-19 testing
Sarnia’s mayor is calling on the federal government to remove costly COVID-19 testing as a requirement for Canadians returning to Canada from the United States.
“They don’t understand border cities,” said Mike Bradley of a decision by the government to require testing at a cost he estimates to be more than $200 for each re-entry into Canada.
He said cross-border families will hurt the most.
“It is a huge burden on people who have done all the right things. They’ve gotten double vaccinated. They were looking forward to travelling. They’ve take all the precautions necessary. And to have those extra costs put on them…”
Sarnia-area resident Bob Vansickle said he and his wife Ann haven’t seen his wife’s parents since February 2020.
In that time, new relationships have been formed with children born into the family, loved ones have died and his elderly in-laws have been in failing health. The cruel irony is that they live just across the St. Clair River in Port Huron, MI.
Bob Vansickle speaks via Zoom from his home near Sarnia, Ont. on Thursday, Oct. 21, 2021.
“Since that time my brother-in-law has passed away unexpectedly. We haven’t been able to grieve his death. My father-in-law has dementia and his disease has really progressed since that time. My mother-in-law has developed congestive heart failure, and we’re just not there to be able to support them.”
The U.S. has announced it will open the border to vaccinated Canadians Nov. 8. Vansickle said his joy over the decision was short-lived.
“It’s something that’s going to cause us a real problem because if we’re looking at $200 to $400 each time we get tested, it’s just too prohibitive to be able to travel to the U.S. every day.”
Ann Vansickle with her parents, who live in Port Huron, MI, and who she hasn't seen since February 2020, are seen in this undated family photo.
Bradley, meantime, is hoping city council will endorse a letter he’s written to the federal government asking for a change of heart.
“We’re making progress with the border opening both ways for double-vaccinated people. Now they’re finding themselves in this bureaucratic maze, which is very very costly to exit from.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.