U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins is calling for an end to Canada's COVID-19 border crossing restrictions.
Higgins said the Arrive-CAN app, which requires travelers to provide travel and health information, is limiting people from freely traveling across the northern border.
Canada is extending the use of the app through at least the end of this month. But Canada is also temporarily suspending random arrival testing for fully vaccinated people entering the country by plane through July 1.
That does not apply to anyone crossing at land borders.
Higgins calls these requirements disjointed and says many Western New Yorkers avoid making the trip across the border all together because of the confusion.
"The ArriveCAN app and other restrictions continue to be a barrier to the free flow of people across the northern border," Higgins said. "My office regularly receives calls from Western New Yorkers frustrated and confused by the technology and frequently changing, disjointed requirements for crossing between the U.S. and Canada. Consequently, to bypass the uncertainty and hassle it creates, many are avoiding making the trip across the border entirely. We have to get back to pre-pandemic US-Canada border management. I stand with municipal leaders and tourism agencies in calling for an end to the ArriveCAN mandate."