CTVNews.ca  Friday, August 14, 2020   
      
      
   OTTAWA -- As Canada and the U.S. move to extend the border closure by another   
   month, more than 12,000 Americans have been turned away at our shared border   
   — and almost half of them were coming to Canada to sightsee, shop or have   
   some fun, despite the    
   ongoing pandemic.   
      
   The number has continued to climb since CTV News first reported last month   
   that more than 10,000 U.S. citizens attempted non-essential border crossings.   
      
   According to the latest figures sent to CTVNews.ca by the Canada Border   
   Services Agency (CBSA), 12,819 U.S. citizens have been turned away from our   
   shared border between March 22 and August 5.   
      
   More than a quarter of them were barred from entering after revealing they   
   were coming to Canada to sightsee.   
      
   While more than 6,000 U.S. citizens were turned away for undisclosed   
   “other” reasons, a total of 3,658 Americans were trying to come to Canada   
   for "tourism" or "sightseeing" — an almost 1,000-person increase from the   
   July 12 total of 2,840 U.S.    
   citizens being turned away at various ports of entry after sharing they were   
   just hoping to take a peek at Canada’s tourist attractions.   
      
   In addition to that, more than 1,500 of the Americans Canada has turned away   
   cited "recreation" as the reason for their visit, while more than 600 said   
   "non-essential shopping" was what awaited them on the Canadian side of the   
   border. Both these figures    
   represent a continued uptick from last month, when more than 1,300 fun-seekers   
   and more than 500 shoppers were turned away.   
      
   Canada shut its borders to foreigners in mid-March, initially exempting U.S.   
   residents from the new rules. But within days the Canada-U.S. border had also   
   shuttered to all non-essential travel, an agreement that the government   
   announced Friday would be    
   extended to Sept 21.   
      
   "We will continue to do what's necessary to keep our communities safe," Public   
   Safety Minister Bill Blair said in a tweet, announcing the extension of the   
   border closure agreement.   
      
   The current agreement has exemptions in place for the flow of trade and   
   commerce, as well as temporary foreign workers and vital health-care workers   
   such as nurses who live and work on opposite sides of the border. However,   
   tourists and cross-border    
   visits remain prohibited.   
      
   Americans turned away at border   
      
   However, it isn't just Americans who seem to be misinterpreting the border   
   rules amid the ongoing pandemic.   
      
   From March 22 to August 5, more than 100 non-U.S. foreign nationals were   
   turned away at various ports of entry because they were hoping to do some   
   shopping in Canada.  More than 600 were turned away because their visit to   
   Canada was for tourism,    
   sightseeing or recreational purposes.   
      
   
Just shy of 1,000 non-U.S. foreign nationals were turned away for "other,"   
   undisclosed reasons.   
      
   "All travellers who enter Canada who are not Canadian Citizens or permanent   
   residents must meet one of the travel exemptions as set out in the Orders in   
   Council (OIC) that the CBSA applies related to COVID-19," Mark Stuart, a   
   spokesperson from the Canada    
   Border Services Agency, said in an emailed statement to CTVNews.ca.   
      
   "It is also important to note that each person must meet all entry   
   requirements before being authorized to enter Canada."   
      
   Despite the CBSA turning away the thousands of U.S. citizens and other foreign   
   nationals who are trying to come to Canada for shopping and sightseeing, some   
   Americans have found sneaky ways to get their desired dose of time on Canadian   
   soil.   
      
   A Florida couple was issued provincial offence notices and each received a   
   $1,000 fine after they entered Canada in Fort Erie to attend a seasonal   
   property on July 3. The two did not comply with the 14-day period of   
   self-isolation after entering the    
   country.   
      
   Another American couple, who entered Canada on June 24 near Thunder Bay, Ont.,   
   were also fined for breaking quarantine rules. They were spotted multiple   
   times in an Ontario town, despite being told to isolate for 14 days upon their   
   arrival.   
      
   While there is an exemption allowing Americans to travel through Canada to   
   reach Alaska, some U.S. citizens have been caught using this loophole to break   
   Canadian rules.  The Alberta RCMP issued six tickets to American travellers   
   who decided to stop near    
   Lake Louise for long hikes in the park in mid-June.   
      
   Canada has since taken action to close this loophole, including the imposition   
   of new restrictions to limit the time Americans are allowed to take to travel   
   through Canada and forcing them to use a "hang tag" on their rear-view mirror   
   that easily    
   identifies them as Americans just passing through.   
   ____________________________   
      
   Hell, hang the Americans - use the tag to mark their graves.   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)