Quebec re-opens border to Ontario cottagers and other non-essential travelers GlobePolitics
A Quebec road control officer stops traffic heading into the province on an inter-provincial bridge in Gatineau, Que., April 2, 2020.The move didn’t come in time for the long weekend, but next week the Quebec government will be lifting the checkpoints that prevented thousands of Ontario residents from going to their cottages in the Gatineau Hills or from undertaking other non-essential activities in the province.
The reopening of the Ottawa-Gatineau border was announced Friday afternoon and will take effect on Monday. Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson said he never considered imposing restrictions on travellers from Quebec, calling the idea a “colossal waste" of police resources. There have been 366 cases and 10 deaths linked to COVID-19 in the Outaouais region, which includes Gatineau and other municipalities, compared with 1,725 cases and 185 deaths in Ottawa. Municipalities in Quebec had been concerned that cottage owners would bring the novel coronavirus to isolated or rural communities, but also that a surge in their numbers could overwhelm food stores.
Quebec residents, on the other hand, have long crossed into Ottawa to work, including in the construction industry, which is less regulated on the Ontario side. Ottawa hospitals are also a magnet for Quebeckers who are frustrated by the state of the health care services in their home province.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Quebec announces lowest daily COVID-19 death toll since mid-AprilQuebec Premier Francois Legault sounded a cautiously optimistic note about the state of the COVID-19 pandemic in his province on Friday, pointing to the latest numbers on deaths and new infections.
Read more »
'Society Failed' Quebec Premier Says In 1st Trip To Canada's COVID EpicentreHe took some responsibility for the province's failure to bring the situation in the city under control.
Read more »
Quebec Premier Legault to announce that Montreal-area schools will only reopen in SeptemberThe premier has a day full of meetings and a press briefing in Montreal, hard hit by COVID-19, with more than 2,000 deaths so far.
Read more »
Opinion: In Quebec, children have become dice on a craps tableSARS taught us to be cautious in times of uncertainty, but Legault isn’t taking that advice
Read more »
Return to school: Bring your own sanitizer, Quebec student advises fellow kidsAfter his first week at school, a Grade 5 student in Quebec City warns other kids who may be going back to school to pack their own hand sanitizer and to lower their expectations about excitement.
Read more »