Canada-U.S. border. (Supplied by Canadian Press)

By David Opinko

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Ottawa to lift some border restrictions for families, extended families October 8

Oct 5, 2020 | 3:26 PM

OTTAWA, ONT – Later this week, it could become easier for family members to cross the Canada-U.S. border.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Minister Marco E. L. Mendicino, Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Minister Bill Blair, and Health Minister Patty Hajdu say they will be strengthening the public health presence at the border while also allowing additional people to cross.

Processes are being introduced “to support greater family reunification, entry for compassionate reasons, and the safe and gradual entry of some international students.”

This is expected to include:

· Certain extended family members of Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents, including those in an exclusive dating relationship of at least one year and their dependent children, as well as adult children, grandchildren, siblings, and grandparents

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· Foreign nationals for compassionate reasons in specific circumstances, such as life-threatening illness, critical injury or death, with potential limited release from quarantine

· International students, starting October 20, 2020, if they will be attending a designated learning institution that has been identified by their provincial or territorial government as having a COVID‑19 readiness plan in place

Detailed information on who may qualify as an extended family member and the process to be eligible to travel will be available on the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada website on Thursday, October 8, 2020.

The presence of federal public health officers at the border is being scaled up over the coming months to cover 36 ports of entry that account for 90 per cent of all traffic into Canada under normal operations.

This will see 190 public health officials deployed across the country by the end of the fiscal year.

The ArriveCAN app is now available on Android and iOS smart devices for travellers to share their critical information. The federal government says this will help to speed up the border screening process.

(Lethbridge News Now)