U.S. border businesses optimistic as some restrictions ease
CBC
The pandemic meant quite a few changes for Ryden's Border Store, a popular shop and parcel delivery warehouse located in northern Minnesota — just across the Canada-U.S. border crossing at Pigeon River.
Normally, the store in Cook County, Minn., was busy with travellers stopping for gas, snacks, or picking up parcels — since Ryden's accepts deliveries for Canadians looking to save on international shipping costs. The border crossing is about 60 kilometres south of Thunder Bay, Ont.
But it's been a long time since Lori Boomer has seen any of those scenes at her store as the pandemic, and border restrictions between Canada and the United States, dragged on for the past two years.
"We had a few tourists coming. The duty free shop closed, the gas station closed," she said. "It's kind of been a ghost town."
But through it all, the parcels never stopped coming.
"We received deliveries every day," Boomer said. "We've got them in every garage, every old apartment, every old motel room."
She thinks it's going to be "very busy" when Canadians, who no longer require a COVID-19 test if travelling to the U.S. for less than 72 hours, return.
Things at the Pigeon River crossing were slow Tuesday morning, the first day the new rules came into effect. A few cars were crossing into the U.S., but there was no rush, no lineup of vehicles.
Brian Sherburne, an administrator at Grand Portage Lodge and Casino, located down the highway from Ryden's, wasn't too concerned with the lack of traffic.
"It's not going to be a floodgate of people coming down," he said. "I think we have to be real, and realize that there's still a lot of nervousness in this world about various variants in light of the newest one that's just been announced."
That variant, omicron, prompted Canada last week to restrict travel from several countries around the world.
"I think people will ... make calculated decisions on when to travel and how to travel, and where to travel to."
The casino had a good summer, Sherburne said, with visitors from elsewhere in the U.S.
Minnesota remains a hotspot for COVID-19 cases and Thunder Bay's top health official, Dr. Janet DeMille, has warned people to take precautions if they cross into the U.S.
Have you ever tried to stack bottle caps?
When Aiden O’Halloran was in Grade 6, he was getting 80s on his math tests, learning fractions, angles and double-digit addition, and keeping up with his class with targeted support.
Nicole Wiercinski says being able to move into her own home in time for the holidays “feels like a dream come true.”
A group of five Liberal MPs and a lone NDP parliamentarian are planning to spend three days in Israel and the occupied West Bank, at a time of heightened tensions between Ottawa and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
A commercial real estate developer well known for his philanthropic work, along with a ratepayers group and a local refugee shelter, are floating a plan to transform 10 vacant houses in a tony north Toronto neighbourhood into temporary homes for low income families.
Heavy snowfall is set to continue in the London region through Sunday, with some areas expected to receive upwards of 40 centimetres in total by the time the system moves out.
A staple of Water Street is closing its doors in downtown St. John's.
Cool temperatures and sufficient snowfall have combined to helped some Maritime ski hills add a few extra days of business to this year's season.
A Winnipeg-based rabbi says the local Jewish community must stand together in the wake of a deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration in Australia on Sunday.
More than half of Alberta adults say they would support eliminating provincial funding for private schools if the issue went to a referendum, a recent survey suggests.
The receding of floodwaters in Abbotsford, B.C., has led officials to reopen Highway 1 and downgrade some evacuation orders, though more rain is expected across the Fraser Valley and other parts of the province.
When she flew home to Edmonton from Mexico this month, Mahala Swisterski says she and her husband breathed a sigh of relief as they boarded the plane.
Canada-U.S. Trade Minister Dominic LeBlanc says the door is open for American officials to restart trade talks with Canada, but the next time for direct engagement on trade will likely be when the North American free trade agreement begins its review process next month.