Yes, I know, some people don’t want to read any more about the border closure. Some want to live life with their heads in the sand and not take a clear view of the COVID effect on hockey.
Yesterday, the border closure with the United States was extended through June. Some who oppose my position and information I have published would say that June is nothing important in terms of players going to Canada.
Maybe. What happens after June?
Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Theresa Tam has said “the mandatory 14-day quarantine for arrivals remains a “cornerstone” of federal pandemic policy going forward.”
Tam said later in a message to the Commons health committee that there is no guarantee Canada will support a reopening of the border when the extension to the restrictions come to an end.
Yes, I know these are not certain specific plans. Of course they could change. The virus could magically disappear tomorrow and everything would go back to normal. Unlikely, but sure it could happen.
Moshe Lander, an economist at Concordia University, said the border likely will remain closed for several months.
Because economic recovery will require virus testing with rapid and accurate responses and minimal quarantine requirements, he said, governments will prioritize tests for their own citizens first and foreigners second.
“If millions of people cross the border, those millions of tests should be used to ensure the domestic situation is secure first. That type of volume is still months away and, therefore, so is the border opening,” he said.
More information is available from CBC News here.
This is an expert talking. Not me. And, he makes a lot of sense. Common sense real answers.
Lets use some common sense here. Can you imagine driving into Canada in July and waiting for each and every person to have a Coronavirus test? Filling out paperwork of where they intend to go in Canada so they can be tracked? Just how long will all of this take?
Crossing into Canada by land will become a traffic nightmare. Crossing into Canada by air should be a little easier, but it takes time to process a few hundred people on each plane.
Who pays for the testing? Canada? I don’t think so. Who pays for the quarantine?
Wouldn’t every person being tested be required to sign a consent to be tested? A consent to be quarantined?
Oh, and lets not forget the import players for Major Junior who come from Russia and Europe. What’s the plan for them? If you think a player is getting out of Russia any time soon who isn’t an NHL player, you clearly haven’t read the news.
To all the doubters, just do some research. Don’t take my word for it. Don’t take any coaches word for things. Do the research and if necessary go ask an immigration attorney what they think is going to happen. I did.
To those amateur want to be advisers who think they are competitors with me, who have never done a NCAA D-1 commit, you are not competition, you make me laugh.
I have not accepted a new client due to the crisis, and have not profited in any way due to these articles.
I actually hope I am wrong and a vaccine is found that lets everyone have choice in where they play. But again, the experts say its not likely.
Maybe the solution is as simple as saying ok, no Canadians or Americans crossing the border this year. We could reevaluate at the end of the 2020-2021 season and hope to return to the old model.
That of course would be the easiest and smartest solution allowing everyone to move forward with planning for the season immediately.
Joseph Kolodziej – Adviser
