Things are complicated at the N.S.-N.B. border because of varying pandemic restrictions
It's been a while since people have been able to travel between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick under the same set of COVID-19 rules.
New Brunswick's decision to open its borders to the whole country will keep it that way until next Wednesday and people who've been living through ever-changing rules wish they didn't have to wait.
"He can come here and go back; but I can't go there and come back," said Sharon Hachey.
That's the situation in which Bathurst residents Ian MacLean and Sharon Hachey find themselves.
Parked at the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border for a mid-highway swap as she tries to get to Halifax to catch a work flight to Alberta.
A friend from Nova Scotia is en route, to take her the rest of the way.
"Because of the way the border now is, I can't drive into Nova Scotia and then back to my home province of New Brunswick, but her friend he's coming here to get her because he can drive back into Nova Scotia," said MacLean.
Said Hachey: "But this is hope, I have friends in Nova Scotia that haven't been able to see their family, so I'm happy for them."
It's the kind of situation so many residents on both sides have found themselves in; able to cross one way without self-isolation requirements, but not the other.
While New Brunswick opened its border to travellers at midnight Wednesday, Nova Scotia won't be doing the same, until next Wednesday.
Today, travellers crossing into Nova Scotia are still stopped at the border to make sure they're following isolation protocols.
"It shows that unless both provinces are willing to open up access from either side, nothing really changes," said Dr. David Kogan.
Like many people, Kogan works in New Brunswick, but lives in Amherst and is town mayor. He's anxious for the day when he won't need his essential worker pass to return from work to home.
"It's been particularly challenging for a lot of people, especially when their loved ones are so close yet so far," said Kogan.
And in a community where 40 per cent of retail revenue comes from New Brunswick, it's not only personal, it's a matter of the economy.
"When was the last time either premier actually came to the border," said Stephen Emmerson, the president of Emerson Packaging, Amherst's largest employer, which has 400 workers from both sides of the border. He says political leaders should have done a better job of coordinating border travel.
"Everything that's going on with COVID has just created stress and anxiety for everybody and then when you layer that on top of it it's just one more thing people unfortunately have had to deal with for over a year now," Emmerson said.
The hope is that once travel restrictions are lifted between Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, it will stay that way, but that will depend on vaccinations and their effectiveness against COVID-19 variants.
"To see this come to an end, everybody is extremely optimistic," said Kogan.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
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.
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.
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.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
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.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
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.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.