Signage directing traffic between Atlantic provinces is seen on the Trans-Canada Highway in Fort Lawrence, N.S. on June 24, 2020.Darren Calabrese
Businesses across Atlantic Canada are asking for greater transparency in the decision-making process around the Atlantic bubble after the region’s four premiers announced Tuesday that the reopening would be delayed until May.
The reopening of the bubble, which allowed isolation-free travel between the provinces last year, had been set to return on Monday. When the bubble was instituted last summer, it meant businesses in the region could benefit from interprovincial tourism, providing some much-needed relief to a tourism and hospitality sector that has been hit particularly hard during the pandemic.
Matthew Jelley, president of PEI and New Brunswick amusement-park operator Maritime Fun Group, said the news was “not unexpected,” especially considering the spike in cases of COVID-19 in New Brunswick. While he understands the decision, he can’t help but feel some disappointment.
“We know that nothing is a given at this time and that things were subject to change,” Mr. Jelley said in an interview. “But it doesn’t take away from the disappointment and, I guess, also a little frustration.”
Maritime Fun Group was able to open all but one of its locations last year, at limited capacity, and had begun accepting bookings at its accommodations for this May. Unfortunately, Mr. Jelley said, those bookings will now be cancelled and he’s worried he won’t be able to open his attractions, including Sandspit Cavendish Beach and Magic Mountain in Moncton, by Victoria Day weekend. The four Atlantic premiers have set May 3 as the new target date to reopen the bubble.
Brandon Ellis, senior manager of policy at the Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, echoed Mr. Jelley’s sentiment, remarking the chamber is “very happy” the bubble is still set to open, tentatively, but also “a little disappointed” about the delay. He said businesses in the region trust the public-health experts and the science that goes into these decisions, but are asking for “just a little bit of certainty” from the provincial governments.
“Really, there’s no transparent measure that the governments are using to determine this,” Mr. Ellis said in an interview. “We don’t know what is leading to the decision-making to close off the borders and to put restrictions back in place.”
He added that it’s “looking promising” that the bubble will be reinstated in May. It was a success last year, he said, and he hopes that trend continues this year.
Mr. Ellis said border restrictions have been “problematic” for businesses that employ people who live in other parts of Atlantic Canada, citing the town of Amherst, N.S., from which many people commute to New Brunswick in normal times.
Businesses and the region at large, Mr. Jelley said, need the help of governments to get through this together, noting federal programs, including the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy, were his business’s “saving grace” last year. He’d like to see the wage subsidy continue past June, when it’s scheduled to end.
“We know the tourism business, in particular, is not going to be back to normal by June,” Mr. Jelley said. “And we really need the federal government to step up and tell businesses, ‘We know that you’re facing a lot of restrictions. We know you’re facing a lot of new rules. We know there’s a lot of uncertainty and here’s one thing we can do to help your business.’”
Mr. Jelley said he understands why the provincial governments are being cautious when it comes to reopening the bubble.
“I understand that, for us, it’s about the realization that businesses have borne the brunt of the restrictions in Atlantic Canada, not our health system, luckily,” he said.
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