Time to stop dithering and open the Canadian border

Re No June reopening planned for Canada-U.S. border, June 17

Our governments need to lead, and stop pandering to a cautious, complacent public.

Vaccinated travellers should be allowed to enter Canada, and the border with the U.S. needs to reopen. Our tourism and airline industries are begging for an opportunity to safely rebuild their businesses.

Canada runs a trade deficit of over $50 billion with China, and almost $30 billion with the EU. Perhaps we could throw off our fears and biases and welcome vaccinated travellers from China, the EU and the U.S. into Canada.

What’s the risk? Otherwise, our messages are that foreigners aren’t welcome (while Canadians are welcomed abroad), our travel and tourism sectors aren’t important, and we’re happy to continue selling Canadian real estate and other assets to finance our deficits.

Tony Hooper, Toronto