New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs said Wednesday any decision will be based on an assessment of public health risks. (Ed Hunter/CBC)
A proposal by New Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs to extend the Atlantic bubble to include part of Quebec is getting a cool response from his Atlantic colleagues, but the province could still push ahead with dropping travel restrictions for residents of the Gaspésie region, and possibly others.
"We are considering various options for allowing some travel into New Brunswick for those who live close to the Quebec-New Brunswick borders," Higgs said in an emailed statement on Wednesday.
"It is possible we could expand the bubble to include the Gaspé and other regions of Quebec, but any decision will be based on an assessment of public health risks" associated with COVID-19, he said.
This went a little further than what Higgs told CBC News Tuesday night, when he said he expected to talk to his colleagues soon about bubbling with the Gaspé and hoped to see the expansion by the end of the week.
Public Safety officials did not respond to a request for information Wednesday about how the logistics would work if Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland and Labrador do not agree to any expansion of the Atlantic bubble into Quebec.
Friday is also the date Higgs and the other premiers had initially floated when the bubble began July 3 as when they might open up the region to the rest of Canada, but that now appears to be off the table.
All four Atlantic provinces have reported new cases of COVID-19 since they allowed non-essential travellers from within the region to cross borders without requiring a written exemption and a 14-day isolation period. All of the cases are travel-related, although they are related to travel outside the region, according to health officials.
We need more time living with the Atlantic travel bubble before we would consider or feel comfortable with expanding the travel bubble.
- Dennis King, P.E.I. premier
P.E.I., which has a cluster of cases at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.and is testing hundreds of staff and patients who may have been exposed to an emergency room employee who tested positive after a flight from Toronto, won't even begin to think seriously about expanding the Atlantic bubble before August, said Premier Dennis King.
"We need more time living with the Atlantic travel bubble before we would consider or feel comfortable with expanding the travel bubble to the rest of Canada or provinces outside of the Atlantic region," he said in an emailed statement.
Higgs said the province's new online registration program could assist border officials with determining which Quebec residents would be allowed in if the expansion goes ahead. (Alexandre Silberman/CBC)
Nova Scotia will make any decisions about potentially expanding the regional bubble to include residents of other Canadian provinces and territories "based on our experience with COVID-19 in the coming days/weeks and the epidemiology at the time," Heather Fairbairn, spokesperson for the Department of Health and Wellness said in an emailed statement on behalf of the province.
"When a decision is made it will be communicated publicly, as has been our process throughout the COVID-19 pandemic," she said.
Parts of Labrador-Quebec border open
Newfoundland and Labrador opened its border to visitors from Fermont, Que. with travel exemptions late last month. Residents of Labrador City and Wabush, and residents of Fermont are permitted to travel only among these three communities, provided they are asymptomatic.
The border checkpoint remains in place to monitor movement and ensure access for residents from these communities only,
Traffic to the province has been relatively low, with 9,900 travel exemptions approved since May 4, but the busiest point of entry has been the Labrador-Quebec border.
More than 400 of the 996 people who entered the province on Tuesday entered through the border between Fermont, and Labrador City, Premier Dwight Ball told reporters during a COVID-19 news conference Wednesday.
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball told reporters Wednesday residents from the Gaspésie region would still need a travel exemption to get into his province. (GovNL/YouTube)
But that "doesn't necessarily mean that we would be OK with" New Brunswick allowing in Gaspésie-area residents, Ball said.
"We'll use the decision-making mechanism that has worked for us to get us safely where we are today and that is working with our own officials," he said.
"And, of course, if we get to a point we can see an agreement on this, you know, then we will explore that option. But you know for us, it will be our decision here in Newfoundland Labrador, based on the safety of our residents, and what's a priority for us.
"We take nothing for granted in this pandemic," said Ball, noting officials are trying to avoid a setback, which, he said, would be costly to the economy, and could also have a negative impact on the confidence of citizens. "All of this is balanced with the fact we know some families would like to be reunited sometime this year."
Higgs said he has "some apprehensions" about opening up the region to the rest of the country right now.
Pressure from border communities
He has been under pressure from people separated by the New Brunswick-Quebec border to ease travel restrictions.
More than 400 residents of Campbellton, and the closest Quebec communities of Listuguj First Nation and Pointe-à-la-Croix gathered on the bridge linking the two provinces in May to demonstrate against New Brunswick's travel restrictions.
They called for a bubble to be formed between the communities to allow for essential travel and family reunification.
More than 400 residents of Quebec and New Brunswick met on the bridge that separates the communities of Campbellton, Pointe-a-la-Croix and Listuguj First Nation in May to march against New Brunswick's travel restrictions. (Serge Bouchard/Radio-Canada)
Darcy Gray, the chief of Listuguj First Nation, had also sent him a letter in May.
Higgs followed up with a call last Friday and, according to Gray, discussed "an initial target date of the 17th of trying to get Listuguj and other nearby communities included in the bubble."
"At no point did the conversation stray towards a bubble not happening. It was just a matter of when," Gray told CBC News.
Recent media reports about Higgs's comments have generated a lot of excitement, said Gray.
"I'm hopeful that, you know, Friday is the day. If it's not, it's going to be a quite a disappointment for, I think, a lot of people around here."
How far into N.B.?
Gray said Higgs never got into the specifics of enforcement during their discussion. He's not sure if Quebec residents would be able to travel to the other Atlantic provinces, or even farther into New Brunswick than just across the J. C. Van Horne Bridge.
"To me, the main concern right now is, you know, we've had a lot of people here that I think just need to reconnect with the other side of the [Restigouche] River, that need to have access to certain [goods] or family members, friends. I think that's the immediate need," he said.
"I'm not worried about, you know, 'Can we go to Moncton? Can we go to Saint John? Can we go to Halifax?' That's totally, you know, a whole other discussion. For me it's, how do we cross that river and start rebuilding this interconnectedness?"
A lot of animosity has been created over the last few months with the restrictions in place, said Gray. Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, upwards of 5,000 people a day travelled back and forth freely every day, he said.
Many people have family or friends on the other side, and people from his community do most of their shopping for groceries, clothes, building materials and seasonal supplies in Campbellton or Atholville.
New Brunswick's chief medical officer of health Dr. Jennifer Russell said extending New Brunswick's bubble to other Canadians, including residents of border communities, is "being carefully considered."
"Public Health is monitoring what is happening elsewhere in Canada and gathering data to inform this discussion," she said in an emailed statement.
David Amos Methinks its too bad so sad that Higgy won't allow the rest of Canada to come on down and celebrate my birthday Kinda like Trudeau the Younger cancelling Canada In Ottawa N'esy Pas?
Tim Biddiscombe Reply to @David Amos: Methinks you are arrogant N'esy Pas.
Tim Biddiscombe Dumb move, Higgs. Really dumb.
David Amos
Reply to @Tim Biddiscombe: Methinks Higgy et al should agree that you are far more arrogant than I N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver Reply to @David Amos: No you take the cake there. Me me me me me look at me and how I'd sue a fire hydrant if I could..
Norman Albert Snr Reply to @Tim Biddiscombe: "N O W A Y!!!" That post was fla gg ed??? I beg your par don!! Y?
David Amos Reply to @Norman Albert Snr: Methinks desperate spindoctors do desperate things N'esy Pas?
Robin Wheel What a joke!
David Amos
Reply to @Robin Wheel: Welcome back to the circus
Joanne Cooper
Hi I live in Northern Ontario Canada and my mom lives in New Brunswick. I need to go there to bring her a Heating/air conditioning unit. I only plan to stay for 3 days. I only plan to stop for gas. And not go anywhere except my moms. I was told by border security a couple weeks ago this would be ok since she is family and they would just call her from the border. Is this still the way it is? Or will I get refused at the border and have to turn around?
Doug Graham
Reply to @Joanne Cooper: I would call the Gov't and confirm what you need to do.....
James Smythe
Reply to @Joanne Cooper: Maybe at the border. But once you get here, be prepared to be “plate-shamed” for your out of province licence plates, yelled at, possibly have your car keyed or tires slashed, and a host of other vigilante justice from the frothing-at-the-mouth lynchmob who has been trained into fear and learned helplessness to treat anybody from out of province as “sick unless proven healthy”. Good luck.
Kat Jo
Reply to @Joanne Cooper: After your visit, if allowed in, I believe your Mother would have to self isolate for two weeks.
Lou Bell
Reply to @James Smythe: Ah , social media conspiracy theorist Jimmie and his falsities !! A true Trumper !
David Amos
Reply to @James Smythe: Methinks you have quite a fan dogging you N'esy Pas?
James Smythe Reply to @Joanne Cooper: See @Lou Bell for the exact type of unhinged person I’m warning you about.
James Smythe
Reply to @Lou Bell: It’s not a conspiracy when it’s how you people are actually behaving. You might recall the Campbellton incident a month or so back for a perfect example of this deranged mob mentality in referring to. It’s deplorable behaviour Lou, and you’re complicit and an apologist for it.
Johnny Almar You can’t open a section of a province. It’s not manageable. Either keep it shut or open it and pull back the provincial bouncers.
Johnny Almar
Reply to @Johnny Almar: I also just learned that the Canadian border is open to anyone wishing to travel here as long as it is by air.
Tim Biddiscombe
Reply to @Johnny Almar: Ottawa slightly eased Canada’s border restrictions June 9. Under the new rules, foreigners who are an immediate family member of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident are allowed to enter Canada.
David Amos
Reply to @Johnny Almar: Do tell Have you snitched on any of our neighbours lately?
Fred Brewer Reply to @Johnny Almar: Sure Johnny anyone can fly here as long as it is essential travel and they self-quarantine for 14 days.
Joe Doe I have a hard time reconciling this. This is based on politics, not health.
Terry Tibbs
Reply to @Joe Doe: It's always been based on politics.
New Brunswick peace officers prepare to screen traffic entering the province from Nova Scotia. (Alexandre Silberman/CBC)
Since the closing of New Brunswick's borders in March, the province has moved dozens of employees to work at border checkpoints, screening travellers for COVID-19.
The large-scale operation at all points of entry shows no signs of scaling down, even with the opening of New Brunswick to Atlantic Canadian travellers.
On day six of the Atlantic bubble, about a dozen peace officers screened drivers entering from Nova Scotia at the Aulac crossing, near Amherst, N.S. Vehicles were sorted into lanes, and officers walked up to car windows, clipboards in hand, to ask a list of questions.
The oncoming line of traffic, a mix of commercial trucks and passenger vehicles, snaked around the bend in the highway and out of sight several kilometres away. It moved steadily toward the checkpoint, as officers tried to screen each vehicle as quickly as possible.
The staff at these screening areas work around the clock, and are a diverse group of provincial employees: forest rangers, commercial vehicle enforcement officers, corrections officers and others who are considered peace officers.
They have taken on a new role, working 12-hour shifts at the province's boundaries, and are now responsible for exercising discretion in determining if a traveller meets the criteria to enter.
It's a move some law enforcement and border experts are following closely.
The province has set up screening checkpoints at roads, airports and the ferry terminal in Saint John. (CBC) Kelly Sundberg, an associate professor in the department of economics, justice and policy studies at Mount Royal University, said the pandemic has resulted in unprecedented changes to travel within the country.
"I cannot see another example in Canadian history where we've had peace officers controlling our inter-provincial borders," he said.
Peace officers are defined under the Criminal Code of Canada as people acting in a law enforcement capacity. The province has used forest rangers, conservation officers, commercial vehicle enforcement officers, off road vehicle enforcement officers, national safety code investigators, general investigative service members, corrections officers and sheriff officers.
Border checkpoints have been used by other provinces earlier in the pandemic to control certain regions — but not to the extent of the Maritimes.
The Quebec government set up screening points to stop non-essential travel in the national capital region between Ottawa and Gatineau, Que. Those operations were run by Gatineau's municipal police before the provincial government removed the checkpoints in May.
Many provinces established checkpoints staffed by public health officials to provide information on COVID-19 safety measures. Those were largely informational and not designed to control interprovincial travel.
All kinds of officers staff New Brunswick border points during the pandemic: forest rangers, commercial vehicle enforcement officers, corrections officers and other peace officers. 1:57
No independent public oversight
Under the state of emergency, the province has a law enforcement coordination group which oversees the use of peace officers. It is led by the commanding officer of the RCMP's division for New Brunswick.
Peace officers at the borders are not subject to an independent public review in the event of a complaint. Instead, the Department of Public Safety says it has an internal system in place for investigations.
Sundberg, who studies borders and policing, said the lack of an external process is understandable, given the state of emergency. But it could be problematic amid the current climate and concerns around law enforcement, especially if the checkpoints remain for a long period of time. "There's a public expectation it will be independent or outside," he said.
Kelly Sundberg is an associate professor in Mount Royal University's department of economics, justice, and policy studies. (Submitted by Kelly Sundberg) The dozens of staff involved are sometimes moved to different locations, and different shifts, working during the day or at night, switching off at 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
They run screening operations at 11 points of entry to New Brunswick, including three airports and the ferry terminal in Saint John. The peace officers are rotated in and out to give them time to continue working in their regular positions if needed.
The Department of Public Safety has on average four to eight peace officers at checkpoints, supplemented by administrative screeners. Those numbers can be higher during periods of heavy traffic to maintain flow.
In a 24 hour period, the province has an average of 40 peace officers with 25 screeners working at the borders.
The RCMP has also been assisting with screening at multiple locations since border restrictions began in March.
Demands on staffing
John Lunney is the acting deputy chief for the Department of Public Safety's inspection enforcement branch. He is a peace officer and said other officers within various New Brunswick departments were given the opportunity to help.
"I'm sure some peace officers probably find it a challenge based on what it is they're faced with," Lunney said. "But our staff are professional, we give them good training and I think they conduct themselves professionally each and every time."
John Lunney said traffic adjustments have been made at the Aulac checkpoint to help speed up traffic. (Alexandre Silberman/CBC) Lunney said finding staff on an ongoing basis has been a challenge.
"The people of New Brunswick and the people of Atlantic Canada and the United States have all been primarily gracious and understanding because they want their health protected as well," he said.
"But there's been the odd challenge with the odd difficult personality."
Measures to speed up travel
Since the Atlantic travel bubble opened on July 3, some officers have been forced to adapt to screening thousands of vehicles per day.
When traffic backed up for kilometres on the first day at the N.B. – N.S. border, vehicles were waved through for Since then, a second lane has been added for commuters and commercial vehicles. Those heading to Prince Edward Island are no longer screened and instead directed to the highway exit for the Confederation Bridge.
Daily commuters crossing for work are provided with a pass to allow for quicker travel between provinces.
A long line of traffic heads towards a checkpoint to enter New Brunswick (left) on July 8, while only a handful of vehicles approach screening for Nova Scotia. (Alexandre Silberman/CBC)
Public safety officials are also constructing a paved area in the median to make space for trailers, clearing more space on the highway.
The officers ask travellers if they have left the Atlantic region in the past 14 days and if they have any symptoms of COVID-19. If they need to self-isolate, a peace officer will explain the rules and requirements.
Lunney said training has been provided to employees on effective screening and the types of questions to ask travellers. They also receive safety training on best practices and personal protection equipment.
'It's never been done before'
Steven Schneider, a criminology professor at Saint Mary's University, said police have stopped vehicles between provinces in instances of violence, such as mass killings.
Peace officers have been tasked to do other jobs during times of emergencies, such as forest fires, flooding and other natural disasters. Shortly after 9/11 there were some peace officers and police officers deployed to do specialized work.
But, the current use of peace officers is unique.
Schneider is concerned provincial border restrictions will continue for a longer period of time.
"There should be free movement between provinces without any kind of checkpoints or concerns that people are going to be stopped by police."
Stephen Schneider is a criminology professor at Saint Mary's University in Halifax. (Submitted by Stephen Schneider)
Sundberg said beyond environment officers checking boats for invasive plants, there really isn't another example of any kind of provincial checkpoint that would occur with regularity.
It just shows the extraordinary nature of this pandemic and the controls that some jurisdictions are taking.
- Kelly Sundberg, associate professor at Mount Royal University
Sundberg has worked in customs and immigration and helped create the Canada Border Services Agency. He studies border policy and has been following New Brunswick's use of checkpoints closely. He said the geography of New Brunswick and other Atlantic provinces allows for travel restrictions with checkpoints, unlike large western provinces where boundaries are too long to effectively control.
A peace officer screens a traveller at the Aulac point of entry into New Brunswick from Nova Scotia. (Alexandre Silberman/CBC)
"It just shows the extraordinary nature of this pandemic and the controls that some jurisdictions are taking," he said.
"It's never been done before, so it's definitely something that's going to cause questions among some."
Peace officers from various law enforcement backgrounds all receive general training. While they are all armed at the provincial borders, most would typically also have a firearm in their usual job.
"I'm sure it's very different for those crossing the border, trying to cross the border into New Brunswick, it would be very unique and perhaps unsettling for some," Sundberg said. "But I think at the end of the day, the province decided what it needed to do and is doing this with the best intentions, I'm sure."
Alexandre Silberman is a reporter with CBC New Brunswick based in Fredericton. He is a fourth-year journalism student at St. Thomas University. He can be reached at alexandre.silberman@cbc.ca
Methinks Higgy et al know why I would call Dr. Stephen Schneider out of the gate N'esy Pas?
Ray Oliver Reply to @David Amos: You're more of an expert of every topic covered in these articles than a certain leader in the USA. Only difference is he hasn't been to the loon-E bin yet like you..
David Amos
Methinks Higgy et all should find it interesting that what I have been asking about for months is finally being reported N'esy Pas?
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: Deja Vu Anyone?
Bill would give police, government sweeping power over citizens Bill would give police authority to stop and investigate someone without reason Jacques Poitras · CBC News · Posted: Jun 11, 2020 2:05 PM AT
David Amos
Reply to @David Amos: "Methinks some folks must have figured out by now that I was not joking about Higgy's Police State N'esy Pas?"
Tim Biddiscombe Reply to @David Amos: Methinks you got embarrassed in the last election N'esy Pas?
Tim Biddiscombe
Reply to @David Amos: "Under the emergency law, the declaration has to be renewed by the cabinet every two weeks."
Tim Biddiscombe
Reply to @David Amos: ALL Atlantic Canada provinces approved of border restrictions..you make it sound like it was just NB.
Associate Professor at Mount Royal University | Adjunct Professor at the U of Calgary and U of Adelaide | Fellow at the Canadian Global Affairs Institute
Degrees: BA, MA, PhD Office: EA 2041F Phone: 403.440.5646 Email:ksundberg@mtroyal.ca
Dr. Kelly Sundberg is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University, an Adjunct Professor in the School of Law at the University of Adelaide, Associate Professor in the Faculty of Environmental Design at the University of Calgary, and Fellow of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from the University of Victoria, Master of Arts in Justice and Public Safety Leadership and Training from Royal Roads University, and a Doctor of Philosophy in Political and Social Inquiry with a specialization in Criminology from Monash University.
Between 2011 and 2013, Dr. Sundberg served as the Chair of the Mount Royal University Department of Justice Studies, and between 2010 and 2012 as the alternate non-government organization representative to the United Nations for the Academy of Criminal Justice Science. Prior to commencing his academic career, Dr. Sundberg worked over fourteen years for the Government of Canada in various border security, policy development, and advisory roles -- during which time he received commendations for assisting in the location of three abducted children and apprehending one of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation's most wanted fugitives. As a noted criminologist, Dr. Sundberg has been qualified as an expert on matters relating to crime prevention and crime reduction through design by the Alberta Court of Queen's Bench, and on matters relating to immigration enforcement by the Provincial Court of Alberta (Criminal Division).
He has presented his scholarship at high-profile international conferences as a keynote speaker, showcased his research at academic symposiums around the world, and is also published in a variety of academic and industry periodicals. Most recently, and in collaboration with Dr. Tanya Trussler, Dr. Douglas Olson, and Ralph Snell, AIA (with earlier contributions from Dr. Nikki Filipuzzi), Dr. Sundberg led the development of the SAFE Design Standard® -- an innovative and multidisciplinary crime reduction through design methodology focused on reducing both the risk and fear of crime through informed planning, design, and engineering.
Dr. E. Andreas Tomaszewski is a native of Germany and got his Bachelor's degrees from the University of Augsburg (Bavaria, Germany) in Canadian Studies and Sociology. After moving to Canada in 1994, he obtained an M.A. in Canadian Studies (1995) and a Ph.D. in Sociology (2002) from Carleton University in Ottawa. Dr. Tomaszewski's research is in the Sociology of Crime and Deviance, with a special interest in social control, as well as social justice issues, particularly the connections between forms of inequality (class, ethnic, gender, etc.) and crime. He has done research and published on Aboriginal justice issues, violence against women, street crime, drugs, transnational crime, social justice pedagogy and the post-secondary experiences of Aboriginal Students Before coming to Mount Royal in the fall of 2008, Dr. Tomaszewski taught part-time at the University of Guelph after having resigned from Eastern Michigan University in 2007, where he had worked for six years. At the beginning of his career, he taught full-time at Ohio University and part-time at Carleton University and the University of Ottawa. Andreas is very excited about being in the Department of Justice Studies at Mount Royal and in Calgary as they provide him with opportunities to return to some of his major academic (Aboriginal justice issues) and non-academic (all-year-round outdoor activities) passions.
Border delays getting shorter, but there will always be a wait, department says
People waiting 15 to 20 minutes now, compared with more than 90 minutes at start of bubble
CBC News·
Public Safety Minister Carl Urquhart said New Brunswick residents should be let back into the province quicker than non-residents. (CBC)
New Brunswick's public safety minister says people are just going to have to put up with waiting when they cross provincial boundaries during the Atlantic bubble.
Wait times are improving but haven't been eliminated because of the time it takes to screen people at the border.
"You have two options, either not allow anybody in, or unfortunately you're going to have to put up with the time it takes to get that information," Public Safety Minister Carl Urquhart told Information Morning Moncton.
After the Atlantic bubble opened on July 3, drivers reported waits of of 90 minutes to three hours at the Aulac crossing into New Brunswick, and the province has been forced to simply wave people through without screening.
There were concerns about safety, including holding back essential workers and transport trucks from getting across the border in a timely way.
Jacques Babin, director of inspection and enforcement for Public Safety, says wait times are better, averaging around 15 to 20 minutes most days.
Fridays and Sundays, however, are still likely to still see longer wait times to get into New Brunswick on the Trans-Canada Highway, a four-lane divided route.
"The highway was not created with this type of control mechanism applied," Babin said. "So it's really difficult to have any form of control point or registration point that does not affect traffic. Very difficult."
Urquhart said the government has started separating vehicles with New Brunswick licence plates into one lane so they can get back into the province faster and shorten the screening line.
"[New Brunswick residents] have fairly easy access back into it. But there are going be times that if there's an outbreak, it's going to be locked down again, and they're going to go very slowly."
When lines at the border get too long staff wave people through until it is safe to start screening again. (Kate Letterick/CBC)
Urquhart said there are no concerns about emergency vehicles getting through the lineups, and the department has been in constant contact with emergency personnel to ensure it's not a problem.
He said things could move faster if more people had their screening forms ready upon arrival, but even then a wait should be expected.
The forms from the border have to be delivered to staff in Fredericton, where the information is entered into a government website, where it stays for six months, Urquhart said. A new team of staff handles the data entry and is in charge of cleaning out the old information.
"There's a lot of time, a lot of travel, it's a slow process but it's getting done."
Urquhart said an all-electronic system will eliminate the need for paper copies of the forms and speed up the process. He didn't say when that system will be ready.
Premier Blaine Higgs said he needs to discuss the matter with his colleagues, but he feels delaying opening up to the rest of Canada until Aug. 1 is 'probably more likely.' (Government of New Brunswick/Submitted)
Premier Blaine Higgs says he'd like to extend the Atlantic bubble to include the Gaspésie region of Quebec before the end of the week, but he thinks opening up to the rest of Canada should be pushed back for at least another week.
"I have some apprehensions right now in relation to opening up our border," he said.
All four Atlantic provinces have reported new cases of COVID-19 since the bubble began July 3; all of them related to travel outside the region, according to health officials.
Higgs believes his fellow Atlantic premiers also have some "reluctance right now" about opening up the region to the rest of the country, but he expects they will discuss the matter in the coming days.
"I would like to be all lined up here and that we can work together because we did this before … and I'd like to continue that," he said.
Higgs and the other Atlantic premiers had initially floated July 17 as a possible date to allow other non-essential Canadian travellers from outside the bubble to visit without requiring a written exemption and a 14-day isolation period. Since then, however, they and other officials have walked back from that date.
"There has been no firm decision made on an expansion to a 'Canadian bubble,'" Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Dwight Ball said in a statement Tuesday.
"Same as the decision to open the 'Atlantic bubble,' any future broader movement to other Canadian jurisdictions or easing of travel restrictions for Newfoundland and Labrador will be determined and guided by our public health experts and chief medical officer of health," he said.
Many people are taking advantage of the Atlantic bubble. Traffic was backed up for about five kilometres entering New Brunswick on July 9. (CBC/Alexandre Silberman)
Newfoundland and Labrador's Health Minister John Haggie said Tuesday the 17th "was simply arithmetic," coming 14 days after the July 3 opening of the Atlantic bubble. The estimated incubation period of the virus is up to two weeks.
Two weeks is also the period of time public health officials have used to transition between the easing of restrictions.
Higgs said he believes area residents feel "sympathy" toward the rest of Canada and would like to find a way to make opening up work.
But there's also "certainly great concern about the [COVID-19] situation in the denser-populated cities like Montreal or Toronto and what we'd [be] exposed [to] there," he said.
That's why he's looking at connecting the northern part of New Brunswick with the Gaspésie region as a possible "next step" later this week.
"I think we can control that now and monitor that," by using the province's new online travel registration program, he said.
109 new cases in Quebec
Quebec reported 109 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to date to 56,730.
There are 295 people in hospital, including 21 in intensive care.
Five new deaths were recorded Tuesday, for a total of 5,633.
Quebec is registering about 100 new cases of COVID-19 daily. After having dropped almost steadily since mid-May, the five-day rolling average of new cases began to rise in late June, around the same time the bars and nightclubs in the Montreal area reopened.
The Gaspé Peninsula, which is located along the south shore of the Saint Lawrence River and extends into the Gulf of St. Lawrence, has a population of about 80,000, according to the 2016 census.
As for opening up to the other provinces, Higgs said he thinks waiting until Aug. 1 is "probably more likely." But he stressed he won't be making the decision in isolation.
"I'd like to have that opportunity to discuss with my colleagues and then decide collectively what's in our best interest," he said.
Kelly Sundberg is an associate professor in Mount Royal University's department of economics, justice, and policy studies. (Submitted by Kelly Sundberg)
John Lunney said traffic adjustments have been made at the Aulac checkpoint to help speed up traffic. (Alexandre Silberman/CBC)
Many people are taking advantage of the Atlantic bubble. Traffic was backed up for about five kilometres entering New Brunswick on July 9. (CBC/Alexandre Silberman)