Trudeau says immediate family members can travel from U.S. to Canada

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says they will soon allow a limited exemption for immediate family members of permanent Canadian residence to come to Canada from the U.S.

“This is an incredibly difficult time to be apart from a spouse, a child or mom or dad. We hear that,” Trudeau said. “That’s why we are bringing in a limited exemption to allow immediate family members of citizens or permanent residents to come to Canada.”

Trudeau first indicated that the government was exploring the allowance of cross-border families to come to Canada on May 29th. However, those are do cross will be required to quarantine for 14 days.

“Anyone entering the country will be required to quarantine for 14 days, and if you don’t follow these rules, you could face serious penalties,” Trudeau said.

Those who don’t abide by the rules can face a fine of up to $750,000 and/or imprisonment for six months. Those penalties jump to $1 million and three years in prison should someone jeopardize someone else’s life.

The Canada-U.S. border closed to all non-essential traffic at midnight on March 20th.