Planned Aug. 9 reopening of border with St-Pierre-Miquelon cheered in Newfoundland
Chris Sheppard says he's breathing a huge sigh of relief now that international borders between Canada and a clutch of French islands off Newfoundland's coast are set to reopen Aug. 9.
As the executive director of Legendary Coasts, a non-profit promoting tourism in eastern Newfoundland, Sheppard has been leading an effort to get the border open so tourism dollars can flow once again between the two places. He said he hopes to be on the first ferry over to St-Pierre-Miquelon from Newfoundland.
St-Pierre-Miquelon and Newfoundland and Labrador have close tourism ties, but there are also families split across the two jurisdictions, Sheppard said in an interview Tuesday. "It is very special," he said. "These will be the only international residents that will be allowed in Canada until September."
St-Pierre-Miquelon is a 42-kilometre ferry ride from the town of Fortune, N.L. The French archipelago has a population of about 6,000 and has reported a few dozen cases of COVID-19 since the onset of the pandemic. As of Monday, 77 per cent of its eligible residents had been fully vaccinated, Sheppard said. In Newfoundland and Labrador, 40 per cent of eligible residents had been fully vaccinated as of Sunday.
Dominic LeBlanc, federal minister of intergovernmental affairs, announced Monday that fully vaccinated visitors from St-Pierre-Miquelon will be welcomed in Canada beginning Aug. 9, just like visitors from the United States. Travellers from the rest of the world would have to wait until Sept. 7, he added.
St-Pierre-Miquelon is reciprocating the offer. Travellers from Newfoundland and Labrador will be welcome there beginning Aug. 9 as well, Sheppard said.
Premier Andrew Furey had previously written to LeBlanc to express the province's support for some kind of deal to reopen to the French islands. "Our government has advocated for the reopening to St-Pierre-Miquelon given the close ties between us," he said in a news release Tuesday welcoming the development. "It is a time for optimism as we emerge from COVID-19."
Canadians will have to present at the St-Pierre-Miquelon border a negative COVID-19 test taken in the previous 72 hours, and they also need one upon their return to Canada. Sheppard said his group is working with the ferry office to see if they can build a schedule to allow people to leave Newfoundland for St-Pierre-Miquelon and be back within that time frame so they would only need one test for the round trip.
"This is not just about an economic impact, this is about just being humans and the humanity of leaving these people for this long over there," Sheppard said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 20, 2021.
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.