One of the lingering remnants of COVID-19 restrictions is finally coming to an end.
The Canada Border Services Agency announced last week that it would resume pre-pandemic hours at the Port of Estevan and several other border crossings in southeast Saskatchewan.
If you go down south to the U.S., you don't have to worry about being back at the border by 4 p.m. If you arrived at the Port of Estevan at 4:05 p.m., you'd have to take the long way around and cross at North Portal.
You now have from 8 a.m.-9 p.m. for the next seven months, and once the time change takes effect in November, you'll have from 9 a.m.-10 p.m. to cross.
We've been waiting for this for a long time. It's been a gradual return to normal operations for the CBSA. First it was reopening the border to vaccinated, non-essential travellers. Then it was opening the border to the non-vaccinated and dropping the Arrive Canada app that had become a punch line for many and a source of frustration.
Now the hours are extended for those heading into Canada.
If only the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would reciprocate.
Want to cross the Canada-U.S. border into the U.S. at the Port of Estevan? You can do so, but it's still only open from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Sask. time. (That's 9 a.m.-5 p.m. North Dakota time). Of course, that will change in November.
The CBP did announce a three-month trial period that would extend hours by two for the border crossings at Northgate and Sherwood (located south of Carievale). So, you have until 6 p.m. (Sask. time) to get to those crossings before they shut down for the day. But it's status quo for Estevan, Oungre and other ports of entry.
The CBP says the numbers remain lower than they were in 2019. Of course, they're going to be lower. The hours of operation for the border crossings are reduced. If the border is open longer, it will be easier for people on both sides of the border to cross, and you'll see more people.
The two-hour change at Northgate and Carievale-Sherwood probably isn't going to make a big impact. Want to see more people heading to the U.S.? Make it easier for us to cross. Within reason, of course.
Perhaps this approach by the CBP shouldn't be a surprise. During the reopening process in 2021, the CBSA was much quicker to loosen up its restrictions than its American counterparts.
To a certain extent, that made sense. The Americans had to worry about its borders with Canada and Mexico. We only had to worry about the Canada-U.S. crossing. If the U.S. loosens restrictions for Canada, it has to do the same for Mexico.
But hours of operation are different. I doubt Mexico would care if the hours for the Canada-U.S. border returned to normal at crossings south of Estevan, Oungre, Northgate and Careivale.
Of course, this is a particularly important issue for Estevan, Oxbow, Carnduff and other communities that are in close proximity to the border. Prior to the pandemic, cross-border shopping was an important part of our economy. With the Canadian dollar remaining at a relatively low level, it's still advantageous for Americans to come up here, visit our great businesses and experience a little good, old-fashioned Saskatchewan hospitality.
And Americans will want to have longer hours, because a lot of people in southeast Saskatchewan enjoy going to the U.S. and injecting some money into their economy.
The past couple of years has been a tale of gradual and cautious measures. Saskatchewan was more aggressive than most at loosening restrictions. At times, you could make a case it was too aggressive. But one by one, we've seen the pandemic restrictions fall by the wayside.
Is COVID over? No. It'll likely never be truly over. Eradicating a disease is something we haven't done often in human history.
But as each restriction is lifted, it's one step closer towards the 2019 normal.
