Labrador West looks to open its border with a Fermont double bubble

The neighbouring communities on either side of the Labrador West-Quebec border wantto loosen up travel restrictions, and are asking the Newfoundland and Labrador government to allow non-essentialinterprovincialmovement between Labrador City, Wabushand Fermont.

"As we all know, Fermont is very isolated from the rest of Quebec. And vice versa, we're pretty isolated from the rest of our own province, so this integration is really important," said Jordan Brown, the NDP MHA for Labrador West.

Brown took part in a teleconference June 12 with Premier Dwight Ball to press the issue, along with his Quebec provincial politician counterpart Lorraine Richard andthe mayors of Wabush, Labrador City and Fermont.

For a double bubble to span the border, Brown said, anumber of measures would need to be put in place. Travel would be allowed only for permanent residents,and a person would be allowed to cross the border only if they haven't left the region in at least 14 days.

Fermont residents could visit the two communities in Labrador, and Labrador residentsFermont, but no travel beyond that would be allowed.

"The idea is to make sure that we are not having any spread of any potential COVID cases this way, and you're also containing everything in the Labrador West-Fermont region," Brown told Radio-Canada.

Getting it in writing

With such close commercial and familial ties between the border communities, Ball said, his government understands the need to balance travel with public health. To that end, he wants the travel request written down and submitted.

"What I've asked them to do is put together a proposal, some correspondence, that could go into public health officials so that they can devise a way, or suggest a way that they can actually do this safely," he said Tuesday.

Any travel allowance would ultimately come from the Department of Health, he said, as he noted the request marks a shift in tone from the area in recent weeks.

• Lab West mayors want answers after police stopped patrols on Quebec border
• Barricades and checkpoints going up in Labrador to halt non-essential travel

On June 3, the mayors of Wabush and Labrador City raised concerns after police border checkpoints were curtailed without any notice. Barricades were put in place in April to halt non-essential travellers.

Ball and Brown both said there are similar talks happening between the provincial government and border communities in the Labrador Straits area.

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