New stats reveal massive plunge in cross-border movement between Canada and the U.S.

Early statistics arestarting to trickle in on the effect of Canada-U.S. travel restrictions, allowing a first measure of the monumental impacton cross-border movement.

What thenumbers show is a dramatic plunge not only forpersonal travel but also forcargo travel.

That's despite the border still being open to cargo and several other typesof travel:students, military, certain workers, and permanent residents are allowed to cross.

The preliminary data shows an82 per cent drop in border crossings from the U.S. into Canada by land, and a 96 per cent plunge in arrivalson U.S. flights.

Those were the figures released Tuesday night by the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), showing travel for the week of March 23-29 compared to the same week a year earlier.

While commercial travel is still broadly permitted, it has nonetheless been walloped by the COVID-19 crisis. Auto production has seized up, for example,stalling the movement of parts between countries.

The CBSA figures show a 24 per cent drop intruck drivers entering Canada compared to the same week in 2019.

The statistics highlightthe pandemic-induced effect on the economy and movement across borders.

Amid the mounting number of COVID-19 cases, the Canadian government placed border restrictions on foreign nationals on March 16and then, in conjunction with the U.S., suspended non-essential travel across the border on March 21.

Restrictions applied differently at different crossings

The CBSA numbersextendbeyond U.S. travel.

The agency said the volume of international air travellers into Canadawas also down by 92 per centcompared to the same week a year ago whilecommercial air traffic sustained less damage, declining 16 per cent globally.

The language of the Canada-U.S. agreement allowing some travelis a bit vague.

It says permanent residents, students, military, cargoand essential workers can cross the border.But it also cites medical purposes as an example of essential travel without elaborating further.

Canadian immigration lawyers who workwith commercial travellers saycross-border movement has become extremely unpredictable; having a legal work visa is no guarantee.

Andrea Vaitzner says the rules are applied differentlyin different places.

For example, she said, U.S. customs officials at one New York border crossing are agreeing to process Canadians who hold TN andL-1 U.S. work visas; at anothernearbyNew York crossing,U.S. officials are refusing those same visas.

As a result, she's advising commercial clients to avoid travel if they can, and most people are.

"Fewer and fewer Canadians are travelling to the U.S. for work unless it is to provide an essential service," said Vaitzner, a lawyer at Norton Rose Fulbright in Montreal.

"Companies that can continue operating [with workers working] remotely are continuing to do so."

Another immigration lawyer, Henry Chang, has provided the same advice: stay put unless it's absolutely necessary.That said, several of his clients have had to cross because waiting out the pandemic was not an optionfor them.

Chang, a partner at Dentons in Toronto, also reports visa-holders being treated differently at different U.S. checkpoints. He saidhe hopes for greater clarity on the rules soon from U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

"Some ports of entry continue to process [L-1 and TN visas] but others are sending them away until formal guidance is received [from Washington]," he said.

"In summary, there is a bit of inconsistency from port to port at the moment because there is no guidance for officers other than the [initial announcements in the U.S.] Federal Register notices."