Never seen, and unthinkable a few days ago: the longest land border in the world, 8,893 kilometers from the Atlantic to the Pacific, is closed. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau officially made the announcement on Wednesday, March 18, of the front porch of his home at Rideau Bungalow in Ottawa, where he remains in voluntary segregation after his wife Sophie tested positive for coronavirus.
"In close consultation with President Donald Trump, we have agreed that Canada and the United States will temporarily ban all non-essential border crossings," did he declare. Justin Trudeau immediately clarified that this measure will not affect the supply of essential goods such as drugs, petroleum or food. It is therefore the movement of people that will be strictly regulated, not the trade in goods between these two countries with highly integrated economies: the equivalent of $ 2 billion in goods crosses every cheek the Canada-US border; taking the risk of breaking the supply chain that would jeopardize the survival of Canadians is out of the question.
In the aftermath, the Prime Minister announced a new exceptional CAN $ 27 billion plan in direct assistance to workers and businesses. "In these extraordinary times, we are taking extraordinary measures", did he declare. If the pandemic arrives in Canada with a lag time compared to Europe, it is now installed: on Wednesday, the country counted nearly 600 infections with coronavirus and deplored eight deaths.
All borders closed without exception
To all those who, in Canada, have been wondering for several days what is becoming of the Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau has therefore ended up answering, waving a check and closing all borders without exception, when Sunday March 15, he estimated although for countries that have taken such measures, "It didn't work."
Justin Trudeau had let each of the thirteen Canadian provinces act in dispersed order – the city of Montreal even took the initiative to set up a "second customs" at the Pierre-Elliot-Trudeau international airport to encourage Travelers in solitary confinement when Ottawa still refused until Monday to limit flights. In so doing, the Prime Minister has drawn criticism from his opponents, who repeatedly criticize him for his lack of leadership. "Justin Trudeau's awakening from the coronavirus is late and partial, an editorial writer for the Journal of Montreal. His hesitant management of the crisis for too long made him the last weak link. "
