More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
In the before times, Katie McCarron could count on her best Canadian customers to make the trip to her store in Portland, Oregon, to stock up on their favourite high-quality, human-grade pet food.
COVID-19 had other plans. Soon enough, though, so did Portland Pet Food Co.
"Some of them would just be shopping in Portland, and we'd hear that they had been here, or they'd write us and they'd be asking, 'How can I order your food online with the border closed?" the B.C.-born McCarron said in a recent interview.
In the United States, however, every international shipment of pet food products requires a special health certificate, making it impossible for a small retailer like Portland Pet Food to offer online sales outside of the country.
"We can't ship to Canada -- it's just too costly, and we do have to get these certificates issued each time we ship. So I just had to pursue getting into distribution."
Today, thanks in large part to a deal with the Canadian chain Pet Valu, Portland Pet Food is available in more than 500 specialty retailers in Canada, an expansion that equates to about 25 per cent of the company's worldwide retail footprint.
McCarron clearly already had expansion on her mind before the pandemic hit. Portland products are already available in Japan, and she recently signed an agreement for distribution in China. Korea and Taiwan are next on her list.
But the ongoing ban on non-essential land travel from Canada to the U.S., tentatively extended now for a 19th month until Oct. 21, drove home the importance of winning shelf space in a part of the world where crossing the border is no longer as easy as it once was.
President Joe Biden's administration drew a stark contrast last week when it announced a major retooling of the rules governing international travel and COVID-19, while at the same time extending the travel ban at the Canada-U.S. border.
McCarron is at a loss to explain why the U.S. continues to deny Canadians the ability to drive across the border for holidays, day trips or shopping excursions -- a restriction the federal Canadian government began easing over the summer for fully vaccinated U.S. citizens and permanent residents.
"I am just as baffled" as others about the border, she said.
The U.S. Travel Association says the ongoing closure of the Mexican and Canadian land borders is costing U.S. businesses an estimated $1.5 billion a month in "travel exports," which the association defines as spending by foreign residents while visiting the U.S.
Canada, meanwhile, remains the largest single U.S. export market, accounting for nearly 18 per cent of all American goods sent out of the country last year. The two countries trade $1.7 billion worth of goods and services each day, for a total of $614.9 billion in 2020.
"My constituents are deeply frustrated by this, particularly given the trade and the relationships that people have across the border," Michigan Sen. Gary Peters said last week during national security hearings with Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas.
"We are very mindful of the economic consequences, and not only the economic consequences but the consequences on family members who haven't seen one another for quite some time," Mayorkas replied.
He said the progression of the Delta variant of COVID-19 "is not yet where we need it to be" in the U.S., and that there are communities near the U.S.-Mexico border that are also suffering as a result of the closure.
"We are looking at the situation, not only at the ports of entry on our northern border, but also on our southern border," Mayorkas said.
"We have heard similar concerns with respect to border communities on the South and the impact, economic and family impact, of the restrictions. We are looking at what we can do operationally, and we are moving in a very sequential and controlled manner."
It's jarring to consider the discrepancy in crossing the Canada-U.S. border by land, said Tori Barnes, executive vice-president of public relations and policy for the U.S. Travel Association.
"It is very stark that we're in a situation here where we've got Canada fully reopened, and from a U.S. perspective, you can only come in if you fly in," Barnes said.
"It's obviously significantly negative to the U.S. economy as well, and that's something that we've continued to articulate."
White House press secretary Jen Psaki had no explanation Thursday for why the land border remains closed while the Biden administration is announcing new vaccination requirements for international visitors arriving by air.
"Land restrictions, I don't have an update for you on where that stands, beyond it's been extended (and) we're continuing to consider additional steps," she said.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2021.
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
An Ontario man who took out a loan to pay for auto repairs said his car was repossessed after he missed two payments.
A girl and a boy, both 14 years old, made their first appearance today in a Halifax courtroom, where they each face a second-degree murder charge in the stabbing death of a 16-year-old high school student.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
A property tax bill is perplexing a small townhouse community in Fergus, Ont.
When identical twin sisters Kim and Michelle Krezonoski were invited to compete against some of the world’s most elite female runners at last week’s Boston Marathon, they were in disbelief.
The giant stone statues guarding the Lions Gate Bridge have been dressed in custom Vancouver Canucks jerseys as the NHL playoffs get underway.
A local Oilers fan is hoping to see his team cut through the postseason, so he can cut his hair.
A family from Laval, Que. is looking for answers... and their father's body. He died on vacation in Cuba and authorities sent someone else's body back to Canada.
A former educational assistant is calling attention to the rising violence in Alberta's classrooms.
The federal government says its plan to increase taxes on capital gains is aimed at wealthy Canadians to achieve “tax fairness.”
At 6'8" and 350 pounds, there is nothing typical about UBC offensive lineman Giovanni Manu, who was born in Tonga and went to high school in Pitt Meadows.