Average sales declines hovered around 45 percent for July 2022, according to the report, published Friday. “These export shops were closed for almost two years and saw over 95 percent drop in sales during the complete closure of the land border for more than 18 months,” he added.
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“The summer season usually means a lot of busloads of people, groups of people coming across the border and we just don’t see the traffic,” Barbara Barrett, executive director of the FDFA, told Global News. “It just means people aren’t coming.” Story continues below ad Jeff Butler, vice president of a Thousand Islands Duty Free store in Lansdowne, Ont., says that while his business is above average, sales are still down 35 to 40 percent from pre-tax levels. the pandemic and the store is still feeling the inequality. “We definitely feel the difference,” he said, speaking of the store located at the Thousand Islands International Border Crossing. “We’re one of the few places that can only sell to people who cross the border. If people don’t cross the border, we can’t make sales — and that’s where we are right now.” According to the duty-free association and some of the businesses it represents, the reason for the drop in sales is due to the COVID-19 pandemic and its restrictions — specifically the ArriveCAN app. “Traffic is not happening because of the ArriveCAN application,” Barrett said. “It hurts businesses and it hurts the communities of border towns.” 2:24 Concerns are growing about the ArriveCAN app violating constitutional rights Tania Lee, president of the Frontier Duty Free Association and owner of Blue Water Bridge Duty Free in Point Edward, Ont., also says the “main reason” for the slow season is the ArriveCAN app. Story continues below ad “We at the duty free shop help people fill out the ArriveCAN application. We are getting questions about the ArriveCAN application,” he told Global News. “It’s really confusing. And, there are people out there who may not understand how to navigate an app.” At Lee’s store, sales are also down 40 percent compared to 2019. “These restrictions continue to hurt border communities,” he said. Although initially released as a voluntary tool intended to help border officials determine if people were eligible to enter Canada in April 2020, ArriveCAN later became mandatory for air travelers. Then, in March 2021, it was extended to anyone crossing the border by land. According to a statement sent to Global News on Saturday, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) is allowing a one-time exemption for vaccinated travelers who may have been unaware of the requirement to submit their mandatory health information through ArriveCAN. This measure came into effect at land borders from May 2022. It only applies to travelers with no history of non-compliance. Story continues below ad
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The FDFA report notes: “Air travel has been allowed to resume in such high volume that our aviation infrastructure is struggling to process the number of travelers and unvaccinated travelers.” But, on the other hand, land borders are “regulated at the expense of communities whose entire livelihoods depend on crossing the Canada/US border.” The association says it would like to see the ArriveCAN application no longer required, but is also willing to work on alternatives, including a proposed “recovery package.” “We need financial help,” Barrett said, in terms of loan forgiveness and low-interest loans. “We were closed for almost two years. We ask for this with justice.” Although border businesses followed public health measures and federal recommendations when the pandemic began, they are now “left behind” in recovery efforts, according to Barrett. “Our retailers closed to protect Canadians and we deserve not to be left behind. These unnecessary border measures are killing a 40-year-old export sector and doing nothing to keep Canadians safe,” he said in the report. The FDFA has presented a proposed recovery package to the federal government in light of the fact that border traffic is being blocked on an ongoing basis. Story continues below ad The federal government’s COVID-19 benefit programs ended on May 7. These include the Target Wage and Rent Subsidy programs and the $300-a-week Canada Employee Lock-in Allowance. The Tourism and Hospitality Recovery Program and the Hardest Hit Business Recovery Program also ended in May. Those previous programs involved the government paying more than $100 billion to businesses to help with wages, rent, mortgages and other costs. An additional $7.4 billion was allocated for replacement programs. For Butler at Lansdowne, he would also like to see a “more normal” return to the frontier.
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“There is still considerable confusion among many people about exactly what needs to be crossed and that ultimately affects the numbers,” he said. “We are ready to welcome visitors. We just have to tweak things.” — with files by Sean Boynton & Abigail Bimman of Global News © 2022 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
