By Chloé Puddifant
Oct. 26, 2021
St. Lawrence University students and professors with Canadian citizenship await Nov. 8, the date which the United States border is finally reopening to all fully-vaccinated travelers since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Before this date, only Canadian essential travelers, such as students or cross-border workers, had permission with international travel. Although Canadian passport holders share excitement for this announcement, they also express frustrations and concerns about the reality of the opening.
One of them, Associate Professor of Anthropology Mindy Pitre, lives with her family in Elizabethtown, Ontario. “Since the beginning, I could cross with no problem,” says Pitre about her experience with the border during the pandemic. “The border has always been open to me because I’m a cross-border worker.”
At the beginning of the 2021-2022 academic school year, St. Lawrence University was excited to head back toward a normal school year. However, with rising COVID-19 cases on campus, Pitre did not want to expose her family to the virus. “My not coming to work actually had nothing to do with the border, it had to do with the scenario on campus,” explains Pitre about her international travels.
Men’s Hockey student-athlete Francis Boisvert ’23 has a hopeful outlook towards Nov. 8th regarding family travel. “I’m excited for my parents to come visit and watch our games, because I don’t think they’ve been able to watch me play live for over a year and a half,” says Boisvert. From Blainville, Québec, he and his family are just three hours apart, and excited for more freedom when traveling.
Another concern for Pitre is the possibility of increased traffic at the border. “My border crossing doesn’t have a NEXUS lane,” says Pitre. “There is no separate lane for me to bypass people who are potentially crossing to save 50 cents on a turkey.” However, Pitre does not expect a large increase in traffic since Canada still requires a non-rapid test to re-enter the country. These required molecular tests can often cost up to $200.
The prediction of instability and disconnection between the Canadian and U.S. border creates concern for Canadian citizens such as Pitre. At first, Pitre was worried that her mixed doses of the vaccine would not be accepted at the land border. Recently, however, Pitre explains that the U.S. has given cross-border workers until January 2022 to obtain the mandatory eligible vaccination for future international travel and that mixed doses will be accepted.
Professor and Women’s Hockey Coach Mare MacDougall Bari shares many similar concerns for the expected border opening. Lumsden, Saskatchewan resident MacDougall Bari explains how the impact of COVID-19 has put a lot of things into perspective.
“My inability to travel safely, both for my family back in Saskatchewan, and the contact tracing element here, has really shifted our family dynamic,” says MacDougall Bari. She has been thankful for technology and a dedicated family that fought to stay connected even with the border closure.
“There’s optimism that we are moving towards quote-on-quote normalcy, but I don’t believe as though that will mean a steady stream of travel,” says MacDougall Bari on the recruiting aspect of her assistant coaching job. The border having been closed made her work and travel life difficult.
Women’s Hockey student-athlete Melissa Jefferies’ 24, from Kingston, Ontario, shows similar excitement, however, hopes for more clarification on guidelines provided by both countries for entry. “I don’t know what the border is going to do when it opens fully to travelers,” says Jefferies. “Is it going to make it more difficult to travel or not?”
Canadian citizens at St. Lawrence share the excitement along with many other concerns about the upcoming United States border opening. They hope to have their questions answered, but will have a suspenseful wait until the official opening expected on Nov. 8.