Williamsville, N.Y. (WBEN) - As masks come off in schools in New York State and buildings in Erie County, Rep. Chris Jacobs is wondering when the mandates required at the U.S. border with Canada will be lifted to allow free commerce and families to reunite.
On Sunday, Jacobs was in his district talking-up the Northern Border Reopening Act which he entered into the record on Capitol Hill Friday.
"This legislation would drop all mandates on our side of the US Canadian border, allowing for free travel of Canadians to the U.S. and specifically to Western New York," said Jacobs. "We are two nations, and one region."
Jacobs is urging for immediate action on the measure as a way of reuniting commerce and travel along the northern border. Economic stability, says Jacobs, is continuously compromised with the vaccine mandates continuing for border transit.
Jacobs also warns we will soon enter a vital tourism season for the region and an approximately $900 million economic impact is at stake, he says.
Sandy Pearce is a Hamburg resident who is married to a Canadian and a permanent resident of Fort Erie, Ontario. "I have four children, five grandchildren and parents in their nineties who have all been torn apart," said Pearce. "Border communities like mine, Fort Erie-Buffalo, have been heavily impacted."
Pearce says she is ten minutes from her home but has been unable to easily travel back and forth to remain with and visit her immediate family. "Put yourselves in our place," she pleaded as she asked for passage of the legislation to put an end to the separation of families. "Enough is enough."
In December of 2021, Jacobs sent a letter to President Biden criticizing his plans to impose vaccine mandates on truckers and other essential personnel. Similarly, last week Jacobs sent another letter calling for an end to all vaccine mandates and supporting those protesting for their freedoms.
Last week Jacobs called on both President Biden and PM Justin Trudeau to end their vaccine mandate requirements. Jacobs also criticized Trudeau's authoritarian use of the Emergencies Act to violate the fundamental rights of Canadians.
