Ontario lifting inter-provincial border restrictions on Wednesday

The Ford government announced it will lift land and water border restrictions allowing for inter-provincial travel between Quebec and Manitoba as of this week.

Solicitor General Sylvia Jones says the order will expire at 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday and those entering Ontario must “continue to follow the public health measures in place in the province.”

#BREAKING – The Ford government announces it will not extend the closure of borders with Manitoba and Quebec. The order will expire at 12:01AM on Wednesday, June 16 “At which time individuals will be able to enter Ontario via its interprovincial land & water borders.”

— Richard Southern (@richard680news) June 14, 2021

Ontario last extended the ban, which has been in place to contain and limit non-essential travel, on May 29.

It was due to expire on Wednesday.

The original order to forbid inter-provincial travel into Ontario from Quebec and Manitoba was made on April 16, 2021.

Under the inter-provincial travel ban, Ontario’s government has restricted travel from Manitoba and Quebec with the exception of travel for the purposes such as work, health care services, transportation and delivery of goods and services or exercising Indigenous or treaty rights.

Ontario’s stay-at-home order expired on June 2.

The province is currently in Step 1 of its reopening plan with officials eyeing July 2 to begin Step 2.

Officials announced high-level sports teams, including the Toronto Blue Jays, can now hold non-contact practice and dry-land training in Ontario.

Quebec’s government further relaxed restrictions in Gatineau and western Quebec today, allowing for indoor gatherings and bars to reopen.

Cases have also dropped in Manitoba as the province also eases certain restrictions. As of Saturday, up to five people can gather outside on public property and up to five visitors from no more than two different households can meet outdoors on private property.

Similar to Ontario’s reopening plan, Manitoba’s government said recently additional restrictions could be eased by July 1 if a 70 per cent vaccination threshold is met.

Quebec is reporting 123 new cases of COVID-19 today and one additional death, which took place within the past 24 hours.

The Health Department says the number of hospitalizations declined by one from yesterday, to 214, and 54 people are in intensive care, a drop of four.

There are 447 new cases of COVID-19 in Ontario today and four more deaths linked to the virus.

Health Minister Christine Elliott says there are 110 new cases in Toronto, 61 in Peel Region and 56 in Waterloo.

More than 135-thousand doses of a COVID-19 vaccine were administered since yesterday’s report, for a total of over 11.3 million.