Mayors and elected officials from Canadian communities bordering the United States have written an open letter to the federal government calling for the end of COVID-19 testing at the border.

The letter asks for all testing requirements for fully-vaccinated travelers at the Canada-U.S. land border to be dropped.

“Your government has led the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and imposed numerous measures to protect Canadians. As you know, border communities have been at the forefront of the federal strategy and have paid a heavy price with the border being closed to all but essential travel for 20 months. Even now, the border remains under very strict testing guidelines that are not justified by current science and are out of line with public health officers’ mandates,” states the letter.

Niagara Falls Mayor Jim Diodati is among the politicians from 15 communities across six different provinces who signed the letter addressed to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

They say the government should act swiftly to remove the testing protocols as border communities have suffered greatly during the pandemic.

“The time to end testing at the land border is now. In March, Canadians will soon witness full capacity in NHL games with 20,000 fans with no testing requirement, but fully vaccinated American tourists will not be able to cross over the border in their own family car without an unnecessary, expensive test administered by a health professional,” reads the letter. “This absurdity will undermine Canadians’ confidence in all levels of government.”

On Monday, testing requirements eased for fully vaccinated travellers crossing the border by air and land.

Fully vaccinated travellers now no longer need a PCR test – which can often cost upwards of $200 – to cross the border. They can show proof of an antigen test from a laboratory, health care entity or telehealth service taken a day before the scheduled flight or arrival at a land border crossing.