Re-Elected MP John Williamson discusses what's next for New Brunswick Southwest

New Brunswick Southwest MP John Williamson was not only re-elected in the 2021 federal election, his win was a landslide victory, with Williamson garnering twice as many votes as the riding's second place candidate, Jason Hickey or the Liberal Party.

"It was a nice validation of the work we've been doing at my office," says Williamson. "The topics we've been focuses on--from our work during the pandemic to our focus on rural internet and transportation issues or fisheries--really resonated with people."

Williamson says one the issues he's currently working on is asking the Trudeau government to do away with the PCR test requirement for returning Canadian travellers when the US land border opens to Canadians on November 8, 2021. 

"There's a lot of excitement about the border reopening because it symbolizes that we are getting back to normal," says Williamson. "I've issued a word of caution that it won't be easy to get over across the border because Canadians will be required to present a PCR test at the border, meaning that there's a lot of red tape and potential expenses to Canadians wishing to cross. I think PCR tests run around $150 per test in the US."

Williamson believes a rapid test at the border would be a better option in lieu of presenting a negative PCR test taken within the last 72 hours. 

"That someone can take a test one morning in St. Stephen, cross the border, visit Maine for up to three days and use that test to return to Canada demonstrates why this isn’t smart public policy," says Williamson. "Those old tests won’t tell us about COVID-19 contacts in Maine. The Canadian government should instead offer rapid testing at the border when warranted. Only rapid tests can give results that include the travel time in Maine. I plan to raise this directly with the Prime Minster when Parliament returns."