Canada will take the first baby step next month toward reopening the border to American visitors. The measures announced in Ottawa might seem painfully little to people on both sides of the St. Croix River and the Lubec Channel, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says life in border communities will return closer to normal in stages as more Canadians get their second dose of vaccine and COVID 19 numbers remain manageable in the weeks ahead.
     Both federal governments announced via Tweet that restrictions on nonessential travel across the Canada/United States border, in place since March 2020, would continue for another month to July 21.
     The Canadian government announced on June 21 -- the first day of summer -- that, starting on July 6, fully vaccinated travellers, with both shots and permitted to enter Canada now, will no longer have to quarantine or take a COVID 19 test on day eight. They will still have to take a COVID 19 test before leaving home and on arrival at the border. They must register ahead electronically via the ArriveCan app, providing proof of vaccination and other information and bring both the ArriveCan receipt and hard copy of the proof of vaccination with them. They must also make themselves aware of public health rules in the province or territory they plan to visit.
     Those without proof of vaccination will still have to isolate on arrival, take a COVID 19 test on day eight and follow all other rules in effect for more than a year. The ban on crossing the border in either direction for purposes deemed nonessential will stay in place until further announcements. "In other words, foreign nationals coming to Canada for nonessential purposes will be turned away at our borders," Canada's Public Safety Minister Bill Blair said in a news conference in Ottawa. Someone in Calais pining for a meal at Carman's, or someone in St. Stephen hankering for a feed at Karen's, will have to wait.
     At least two mayors on the New Brunswick side wish it would end.
     "Well, my feelings are that, without American tourists again this summer, a lot of New Brunswick's tourism is going to suffer," Campobello Mayor Harvey Matthews says in a text message. "Most people here on Campobello are fully vaccinated, and I feel are ready for the international border to open. This whole pandemic has been tough on families that are separated because of border closures. It's time to get these families reunited."
     "Unless there is something I don't know that the experts haven't told us, you know, it's time to get it opened, at least get things back to normal," St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern says in an interview.
     "I don't know all the details, but I just know we've done what we were supposed to do. We're starting to wind down on this, I believe, and most people are vaccinated," MacEachern says. "To me, what's the difference if I'm walking in Calais or I'm walking in St. Stephen? You know, I can still look after myself."
     least one Maine politician shares the sentiment expressed by these Canadian mayors. "I share the frustration of Mainers who have been unable to see family members and small business owners who have lost Canadian customers due to the prolonged closure of the U.S. Canada border," United States Senator Susan Collins says in an email. "For the past several months, I have pushed to ease travel restrictions for individuals on both sides of the border who have been fully vaccinated."
     "Given the relatively low incidence of COVID in border towns and increasing vaccinations, today's announcement is another disappointment as most fully-vaccinated Americans still will not be able to visit Canada, and fully-vaccinated Canadians will still face some burdensome restrictions when returning to their country," Collins writes, referring to the June 21 announcement in Ottawa.
     Trudeau and others counter that an American or anyone else with both shots might not get sick from COVID 19 but can still catch the virus and pass it on to others not vaccinated. "That is why our decision to reopen step-by-step and gradually is the right and responsible one," he said in a live streamed news conference in Ottawa.
     The government approved the measures coming into effect July 6 once 75% of Canadians 12 and older get their first dose of vaccine, and those with the second dose pass 20%. Public health and other agencies will monitor COVID 19 numbers, hospital admissions and other data after July 6 and will lift restrictions in stages especially as the number of people with their second shot increases, the prime minister said.
     "We will be able to get there even sooner if Canadians continue to be so enthusiastic about getting those two doses that they need," he said, pledging to avoid "a situation where, because we were a week or two too rushed, we have to close it down again" and reimpose restrictions.
     New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs, too, supports the drive to convince people to roll up their sleeves for both first and second shots. On June 22, the province reported that 76.4% of New Brunswickers 12 and older had their first shot already and 20.1% their second shot.
     The government reports that the province set a new record on June 21 when more than 31,000 people booked appointments in a single day for their second shots. Both Trudeau and Higgs say Canada, New Brunswick included, has the vaccines and the capacity to deliver them, putting peer pressure on the unvaccinated to roll up their sleeves so Canada can open the border and lift other restrictions. People can book vaccinations at pharmacies and with either the Horizon or Vitalité health networks.
     Maine Governor Janet Mills announced this month that, with more than 73% of residents 12 and older with at least one dose and nearly 65% fully vaccinated, Maine's state of civil emergency would end on June 30.
Higgs says New Brunswick will lift its emergency order when at least 75% of residents 12 and older get their second shot, regardless of the date. Trudeau, too, says the federal government aims at a full vaccination rate of 75% for ending restrictions, which he says could happen within weeks.
     New Brunswick entered Phase 2 on the Path to Green on June 16 when the numbers of people 12 and older with first shots passed 75% and those 65 and older with second shots passed 20%. In Phase 2, people from the other Atlantic provinces can travel to New Brunswick without isolating or testing; Canadian residents with at least one shot can travel to New Brunswick without isolating or testing; unvaccinated Canadian residents from outside Atlantic Canada can enter New Brunswick but must isolate and take tests on days five and seven to end isolation; travellers no longer have to isolate in designated facilities; and rotational workers and their households no longer have to isolate on their return to the province.
     Travel registration continues for those coming from outside the Atlantic provinces. Restaurants and businesses may operate at regular capacity, but restaurants, gyms, salons and similar businesses must maintain contact lists of clients, and masks must be worn indoors when people cannot keep two metres apart when not eating or drinking. Patrons no longer have to remain seated at all times.
     The rules now allow organized sports, but players and teams from outside Atlantic Canada must follow travel requirements.
     All other restrictions, including use of masks, remain in effect.
     In the original announcement of the Path to Green last month, the government included allowing unvaccinated travellers from Maine to enter New Brunswick subject to testing and isolation in Phase 2, but the federal government, which has jurisdiction over international borders, is not ready yet. Trudeau says negotiations continue with provincial and territorial governments over easing restrictions in the weeks ahead.