I like international travel: I enjoy seeing/welcoming visitors here from other countries too!
But I LOVE Canada!
And Canada MUST NOT open our borders to non-essential travelers from the worst Covid-infected countries … UNTIL they are worthy of it.
Even if it means shutting out our closest neighbour.
The United States is still a basket case when it comes to dealing with Covid-19: a tragic aggregation of millions of caring, concerned citizens pitted against widespread stupidity, denial, incompetent leadership and greed that places private selfishness ahead of public safety.
As of this Canada Day, our southern neighbour has more than 2,690,000 Coronavirus cases and 129,000 deaths. Canada, with one-tenth the US population, has 104,000 cases, 8,600 deaths … every one of them a sad loss, but nowhere near the horror infecting the US.
We can sympathize … but we MUST Stand on Guard for our own country … and NOT open our doors to their failures.
The current Canada/US border closure (except for essential/commercial travel) is set to expire July 31.
As we celebrate Canada Day, we should urge OUR government to keep OUR borders closed well beyond that … to not just visitors from the US, but from ALL the Top Ten (maybe even the Top Twenty?) countries with the worst records in combatting Covid-19.
Every nation has been dealing with the killer virus they way their leaders, their experts, their people, their businesses believe best, or are willing to endure, and when they fail, they have NO RIGHT to export the results to Canada.
Keep them out … until they flatten the curve!
The current Top Ten Worst in terms of Covid-19 Infection NUMBERS are:
- United States 2, 680,000;
- Brazil 1,400,000
- Russia 654,000
- India 587,000
- United Kingdom 312,000
- Spain 296,000
- Peru 285,000
- Chile 279,000
- Italy 240,000
- Iran 230,000.
(The next 10 are: Mexico; Pakistan; Turkey; Germany; Saudi Arabia; France; South Africa; Bangladesh; Qatar; and, Columbia. China … proven liars that they are …. reports 83,600 cases, 4,640 deaths, but everyone knows their true figures are much worse.)
Keep Canada SAFE! Keep visitors/tourists from these countries out well beyond July 31!
Readers know I really enjoy international travel; I also love welcoming visitors to Vancouver; and, yes, I like the United States and most of the American people I have met. And I know how important open borders are to the tourism and hospitality industries, as well as families, friends on both sides of the border.
But the time is just not right to throw open our doors.
The Canadian government and our health authorities/experts MUST draw the line: it is NOT safe yet to fully re-open Canada’s borders with the US or several other nations … and it won’t be for months more.
And our leaders should not bend to either internal or external pressures to expose Canadians to unnecessary dangers.
Meanwhile, enjoy Canada Day … and hopefully, we will ALL stay safe to celebrate Canada Day next year as well.
Bonne Fete Canada!
Harv Oberfeld
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