Surrey duty-free store owner pleads with Ottawa to drop border testing

It has remained open during the pandemic — but for two years now — West Coast Duty Free has seen a tiny fraction of its usual customer traffic because so few British Columbians are driving over the Pacific Highway truck crossing, and so few Americans are crossing into Canada.

While travel is now starting to return to normal, the requirement that fully vaccinated citizens and travellers alike present a negative rapid antigen test before crossing the land border into Canada is hampering the duty-free store’s recovery.

"I think that testing is a monster impediment for travel," said store owner Gary Holowaycheuk.

The change from PCR to rapid antigen makes the testing requirement easier and less expensive, but Holowaycheuk says it’s still a big hurdle, adding: "I don’t think you will see cross-border day trippers going down because of the testing."

Even with much cheaper gas prices just over the border in Blaine and Bellingham, he says it's not enough for most British Columbians to offset the cost and hassle of rapid antigen testing in order to drive back home.

On Monday, federal Public Safety Minister Marco Mendicino visited West Coast Duty Free and spoke to the owner about his pandemic struggles.

"We went over our plight, we went over how tough these last two years have been," said Holowaycheuk. "We told him how much we’ve been bleeding." His main message? The testing requirement is making it impossible to get back to normal.

"They made the point very loud and clear that they hope all pre-travel testing can be lifted," said Mendicino. "We are listening very carefully to those arguments, we know the impacts have been very significant on small businesses," he said.

But Mendicino reiterated that border testing requirements will only be lifted when it's recommended by federal health officials, and gave no timeline on when that might happen.

Now that the vast majority of Canadians are vaccinated and the U.S. lets its citizens and visitors cross the land border without testing, Holowaycheuk says Canada needs to follow suit as soon as possible.

"We are being overly cautious to a point that is ridiculous now, and we need to move forward," he said.

As for Mendicino’s visit, Holowaycheuk said it’s a positive step that his concerns were heard in person, and hopes the cabinet minister makes things happen in Ottawa, adding: "They keep saying we will do everything we can, they keep saying we have your back. All I can say is, the proof is in the pudding."