NIAGARA FALLS (WBEN) - Local officials, including Congressman Brian Higgins and Niagara Falls Mayor Robert Restaino held a press conference Friday to again call on the government to open the land border to Canadians.
"With high vaccination rates in both the United States and Canada, there is no reason why the United States is continuing to shut out our vaccinated Canadian friends," said Higgins. "The shutdown has had devastating effects on our binational economies. Border policy right now is contributing to our economic problems..."
The U.S. Travel Association says the economy is losing $439 million a month as a result of the border shutdown. In Niagara Falls, sales tax revenue decreased by 26% compared to 2019, and despite the slow return to business in 2021, sales tax receipts remain down 10% this year.
"The City of Niagara Falls has experienced a significant decrease in revenue within the past two years since the pandemic began and compounded by the border closure," said Restaino. "The continued closure of the border to our Canadian neighbors only further contributes to the economic stress we've been experiencing here in Niagara Falls."
According the U.S. Bureau of Transportation Statistics, in 2019, more than 10.5 million people crossed into the U.S. through Buffalo Niagara Falls border crossings. In 2020, just 1.7 million people crossed through the Buffalo Niagara region, and 2021 numbers are expected to be even lower.
"We have been told to follow the science, to follow the facts, to follow the data," said Higgins. "We are following the science, the facts, and the data, and they point to the same conclusion, and that conclusion is that the U.S. border should be open."
The existing border shutdown extension is set to expire on October 21st.
