Chamber looks to future of Can-Am
Mar. 19—PLATTSBURGH — On March 21, 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, border restrictions were put in place that ended normal travel between the U.S. and Canada — two years later, normalcy is finally in sight for the North Country.
Most restrictions at the border have been lifted, with the most recent going into effect at the beginning of next month.
Starting April 1, a negative COVID test for vaccinated Americans and Canadians will no longer be required at the land border.
WELCOME FRIENDS BACK
"With April 1, we will hopefully start to welcome our Canadian friends and neighbors back for business, recreation and shopping, and for use of Plattsburgh International Airport, potentially adding now to the strong economic base we maintained," North Country Chamber of Commerce President Garry Douglas said.
"Our Adirondack Coast Visitors Bureau will start to deploy its long pending marketing plans north of the border, and everyone needs to make an extra effort to welcome them back."
Douglas said with news of the testing requirement being lifted, he will now make his first visit to Canada since before the pandemic began.
"I have now arranged my first business trip to Montreal since early March 2020 for two days the first week of April," he said.
"It will include meetings at the U.S. Consulate General with partners I have only seen virtually the last two years, and a luncheon event with the U.S. Ambassador to Canada."
STRONGER TIES
Douglas said the past two years in the pandemic tested the resiliency of the North Country.
But the challenges faced, he said, have actually made the area stronger moving forward.
"We learned once again what we had learned when Plattsburgh Air Force Base closed. That you can never take anything for granted and that the test of success in the long term is how you respond to the big but wholly unexpected things that periodically happen," Douglas said.
"With the unprecedented border restrictions, we learned once again the power of resilience, mutual support within our area, and focusing on the ways forward. And we learned the importance of the economic diversity we have developed in our region since the 1990's, including a robust and growing manufacturing base," he continued.
"We also, in the process of border advocacy, deepened our collaboration with many business and political interests in Canada which will serve us well going forward."
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Twitter: CarlySNewton
