Ottawa (AFP)
Canada and the United States are negotiating a "possible extension" to the closure of their common border for non-essential travel beyond June 21, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Monday.
The two countries had by mutual agreement decided to close from March 21 their border - the longest in the world - except for the transport of goods and goods, for a period of one month. This closure was renewed for the same duration in April and May.
"We are negotiating with the Americans about a possible extension of this border restriction," said Trudeau at his daily press conference in Ottawa.
The Prime Minister spoke of the existence of a "fairly clear consensus" among his counterparts in the ten provinces in favor of maintaining the "current measures at the Canada-US border".
Canada is also examining what it "can do" regarding certain Americans who were recently sighted at tourist sites in Canada and who were allegedly admitted to that country on the pretext of visiting Alaska, said Trudeau.
In May, non-essential border crossings were "essentially zero" in one direction or the other, according to the most recent figures from the official Statistics Canada institute.
Normally, more than 400,000 Canadians and Americans cross this nearly 8,900 km border every day, with peaks around the national holidays of Canada and the United States on July 1 and 4.
Trade in goods and merchandise on both sides totals 2.4 billion Canadian dollars (1.6 billion euros) daily.
Last week, Canada eased the closure of the border by allowing foreign nationals to join their families living in Canada, subject to a quarantine period of at least 15 days.
© 2020 AFP