Windsor-Tecumseh MP Irek Kusmierczyk suggested holding a bi-national vaccination clinic in the Windsor-Detroit Tunnel may not be possible without Washington's support.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens has been lobbying the federal government for weeks to get permission to ship excess vaccine doses from Detroit into Windsor. He said if he has to, he will line up residents here on one side of the demarcation line in the tunnel so Michigan nurses could give them their shot if need be.
However, Kusmierczyk said it's not Ottawa holding up the process. It is the U.S. federal government.
"We very much appreciate the mayor speaking with pharmacists in Michigan, but they don't own the vaccine," he explained. "They don't have permission from the State of Michigan or the U.S. federal government to share those vaccines."
Kusmierczyk said the Canadian government heard back from Governor Gretchen Whitmer through Consul-General Joe Comartin, but not the Biden Administration.
"The message that we got from Governor Whitmer is simply again, that the State of Michigan does not have permission from President Biden and his administration to share vaccines," he said. "Should President Biden's vaccine task force give the okay, we would gladly accept more vaccines."
Meanwhile, thousands of doses, set to expire soon, may have to be destroyed.
It is not that the Biden Administration has not been generous with Canada. It has allowed the weekly shipment of 2.4-million doses from Pfizer. Another 6.5-million could be coming within the next ten days.
Canada is also on a list of 12 countries that will benefit from a donation of 25-million doses from the U.S.
As for what is behind the hold-up, Kusmierczyk is not sure.
"I think they're focused on vaccinations of their own population," he guessed.
Dilkens is among local officials who believe the border will likely reopen later this month, adding to the urgency of speeding up the rollout of vaccines on this side of the border.
Kusmierczyk admits with vaccinations on the rise and daily case counts shrinking, it is possible Canada may let the mutual agreement with the U.S. expire on June 21.
