Brock University's Niagara Community Observatory is helping to lead the discussion on how and when the Canada-US border should reopen.
NCO Director and Brock Political Science Associate Professor Charles Conteh says they are not pushing for the reopening immediately.
He says health concerns are at the forefront as they examine how we can responsibly proceed.
Conteh says one approach would include phased-in moves tailored to specific regions.
"The uniqueness of the Niagara-Buffalo region for instance will be different from what you have in the Windsor-Detroit area, or hat you have in the Cascadia area with Vancouver and its neighbours. So it's about how do you approach it in a tailored way such that the guides here in Niagara will be able to feature in the conversations about decision made by the folks at Queen's Park and at Ottawa."
Conteh also warns about a possible surge in 'buy Canadian' and 'buy American' thinking, saying "Canada and the US are in the same sandbox together and make stuff together...our economic destinies are bound together."
The NCO and University at Buffalo have teamed up to create the Binational Prosperity Initiative, and they are putting forward these recommendations:
- Take a cross-border regional approach to reopening the border, which would rely on states, provinces and regional border operators to share information on plans, metrics and progress, reporting the same to federal officials who have jurisdiction over the border.
- Canada and the U.S. should use one regulatory regime - the Regulatory Co-operation Council - to align COVID-19 regulations especially related to medical supplies, logistics and transportation.
- When enacting economic stimulus packages, U.S. legislators should incorporate a Canadian exemption into "Buy American" legislation and Canadian legislators should incorporate a US exemption into "Buy Canadian" legislation.
- To facilitate economic recovery in both the U.S. and Canada, the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA) should become active on July 1, 2020.
- The U.S. and Canada should invest in border technology such as touchless thermometres to ensure border crossers are COVID-free.
- The U.S. and Canada should expand the marketing of NEXUS as a solution to touchless processing at the border.
- Border operators, such as the Buffalo and Fort Erie Public Bridge Authority and Niagara Falls Bridge Commission should receive government assistance to maintain operations.