Ottawa, Ontario — Officials on Parliament Hill are considering expanding the categories of essential workers allowed to travel across the Canada-U.S. border.
Foreign Affairs Minister Marc Garneau told a parliamentary committee Thursday that could mean allowing technicians in the integrated auto industry to be considered essential workers for cross-border purposes.
“We are specifically talking about different groups that would be potentially considered to be essential workers, that have the need to cross the border for specific reasons,” Garneau said.
The Canada-U.S. border has been closed to people travelling for vacations and other non-essential visits since March 2020 to help limit the spread of COVID-19.
Calls to open the Canada-U.S. border to more than just essential travel have been growing louder in both countries, as politicians and groups within the Canadian auto industry fret over the economic impact of the ongoing restrictions.
“This is good news. It’s important,” Flavio Volpe, head of the Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association, said of the government’s decision to at least look at making a change. “We’ve been very vocal on this, it’s become a critical barrier to business continuity at this stage.”
Windsor, Ont., Mayor Drew Dilkens agrees. His city and the surrounding region is ripe with tool and die makers that serve the North American auto industry.
“[Workers] must be allowed to cross the border for essential business,” Dilkens said in a tweet. “Windsor’s advanced manufacturing sector is vital to our economy.”
