6 • THURSDAY, July 29, 2021
VIEWPOINT
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GOVERNMENT
ALBAS: some border certainty This week I will give Prime Minister Trudeau some well deserved credit. The DAN ALBAS Federal VIEW FROM Government announced: THE HILL “August 9, 2021, Canada plans to begin allowing entry to American citizens and permanent residents, who are currently residing in the United States, and have been fully vaccinated at least 14 days prior to entering Canada for non-essential travel.” These fully vaccinated travelers will also not have to quarantine upon arrival in Canada, provided they comply with the required pre-entry COVID-19 molecular test with a negative result. The Federal Government also announced they intend to expand this relaxing of restrictions to fully vaccinated international visitors on September 7th, with the same criteria for pre-entry with a COVID-19 molecular test and a negative result. Why do I commend the Prime Minister for this announcement? It is not because it means the border will be re-opening. The reason I commend the Prime Minister is that providing clear dates and criteria in turn helps create certainty. Many small businesses here in the Okanagan, to some extent, depend on visits from US citizens. Over the past months there has been a growing frustration as many receive calls for bookings, orders and/or reservations, leaving small business owners in a challenging See ‘CLEAR’ Page 7 situation of
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