Canadian Chamber encouraged by assurance that North American trade flows will remain unimpeded

(OTTAWA) – March 18, 2020 – The Canadian Chamber of Commerce issued the following statement on today’s announcement of restrictions on non-essential travel between Canada and the United States.

“Canada has no more important trading partner than the United States. The two-way flow of goods and services provides critical business inputs and the products that consumers rely on every day.

With the escalating COVID-19 crisis, we acknowledge the imperative to protect public health. At the same time, Canadian businesses know first-hand the impact of border restrictions on getting the goods and services our country needs to fill grocery store shelves, as well as the impact on exporting abroad.

In the implementation of today’s announcement, we call on the government to ensure the most open flow possible across all modes of transportation and to quickly publish detailed guidance for businesses to understand what it means for service providers, business travelers, and those involved in the movement of goods. The government will also need to ensure it maintains open lines of communication for businesses to have a resource when they need to understand how today’s announcement applies in their specific situation. 

It is important that the government actively monitor the impact of today’s announcement on businesses, and the Canadian Chamber looks forward to continue working closely with government to mitigate the impact on transportation, tourism, and other sectors.

We encourage the Canadian and American governments to work together at a global level to prevent the proliferation of export restrictions and support the implementation of global standards to permit the continued operation of global air cargo traffic. As circumstances permit in the future, we call on both governments to establish a pathway back to the normalization of Canada-U.S. border operations.”

About the Canadian Chamber of Commerce – Because Business Matters

The Canadian Chamber of Commerce helps build the businesses that support our families, our communities and our country. We do this by influencing government policy, by providing essential business services and by connecting businesses to information they can use, to opportunities for growth and to a network of local chambers, businesses, decision-makers and peers from across the country, in every sector of the economy and at all levels of government, as well as internationally. We are unapologetic in our support for business and the vital role it plays in building and sustaining our great nation.

For more information, please contact:

Phil Taylor, Managing Director of External Communications, at ptaylor@chamber.ca.