U.S.-Canada border: Time to reopen

Re: “Time to reopen the U.S.-Canada Border” [June 14, Opinion]

I could not agree more. I have lived in Seattle with my family since 1981, and since 1999 have taught at the University of British Columbia. In 2008, I obtained Permanent Residency in Canada and have since paid hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxes to the Canadian government. Since the border closed in mid-March 2020 I have sheltered in place with my family in Seattle, unable to cross the border unless I drive directly to my residence on the UBC campus and quarantine there for 14 days.

I naively thought that having been fully vaccinated since April and being armed with a recent COVID-19 negative test result, I would be allowed across the border to attend a “necessary medical appointment” with my dermatologist in Vancouver. Apparently my appointed biopsy for skin cancer was not “necessary” enough, and I was not allowed to attend that appointment, and returned to Seattle.

I have two suggestions for the Canadian border authorities: Allow fully vaccinated individuals with a recent (within 24 hours) negative COVID-19 test report to cross the border without imposing the 14-day quarantine, and fully vaccinate Canadians.

Bruce Fulton, Seattle