There's another push for the Canadian government to scrap remaining COVID-19 related border restrictions, including use of the controversial ArriveCAN app.
The Sarnia-Lambton Chamber of Commerce is part of a coalition of chambers representing Canada's border communities.
Local Chamber CEO Carrie McEachran said businesses deserve better, especially with how they've been impacted throughout the pandemic.
"Businesses have followed the public health measures, they have since the very beginning, and they've done their part to keep people healthy," said McEachran. "We're in a recovery period now, and recovery needs to mean just that. How do we recover with the barriers and restrictions that the government continues to keep in place at borders?"
McEachran said they're also concerned about the need for Americans to have a quarantine plan, even though they might only be in Canada for a few hours and would be back home before they start to show symptoms.
"Tourism is seeing a major hit," she said. "After two years of highly restrictive tourism seasons, and the end of pandemic benefits, businesses and tourism are just struggling to absorb all of this on top of inflation, labour shortages and supply chain issues."
According to Statistics Canada, border crossings from the United States in June 2022 were little more than half the number made in June 2019.
Tourism spending in Canada is still more than a third below pre-pandemic levels.
Wait times at land border crossings have lengthened by up to two hours since 2019 despite traffic being cut in half. This is largely attributed to restrictions and the ArriveCAN app.
The average processing time for arriving passengers at airports has increased by 400 per cent.
McEachran said the federal government has been asked repeatedly to provide supporting data indicating that ArriveCAN has a positive impact on public health. She said no data has yet been offered.
