On December. 17th, The Canadian administration announced the reintroduction of the requirement for molecular testing for Canadians, which was in effect from December. 21. After three weeks of not having the limitation, Mike’s Parcels was able to turn an income instead of barely surviving.
PEMBINA, N.D. -When Canada let its citizens travel across the border without specific COVID-19 testing in the early months of December, Mike’s Parcel located in Pembina finally received the relief it desperately wanted for three weeks.
On December. 17th, on Dec. 17, the Canadian administration announced the reintroduction of the molecular test requirement for Canadians and took effect in December. 21. For the first three weeks after removing the limitation, Mike’s Parcels could turn an income instead of being a surviving business.
“When they lifted the PCR test requirement, then, I mean, it was just drop-dead busy for us for about three weeks,” Mike’s Parcel Co-Owner Mason Peters said. “And the following day, Dec. 21, regardless of the reason they had cited, they reintroduced the PCR test requirement for those returning home… That means we enjoyed three weeks when we were experiencing a sort of in love with life and readjusting to normal work. After December. 21, it was like it was cut off due to the obligatory testing PCR.”
The negative PCR test results as necessary to cross the border had an unsettling effect on people crossing the border to enjoy recreational activities.
“That is not technically a closed border, but effectively it is,” Peters declared.
Is there a conclusion insight?
Canadian Tourism Minister Randy Boissonnault said in a Dec. 28 CBC report that Canadian tourism companies could have to depend on the domestic market for the remainder of 2022. But that’s not set in stone.
In Pembina, North Dakota, Mike’s Parcel offers a practical but straightforward service. Canadians purchase items from America and deliver items to the store instead of paying for international shipping. They then cross the border to take them back for a small fee.

Vanessa (left) and Mason Peters own Mike’s Parcel.
Peters stated Mike’s Parcel, like many other businesses that border, is dependent on the ability of traffic to flow between and to either side of the Canadian border. The lives of people who live on both sides of that border were disrupted for the past two years, and even communities, like the one that Peters is a part of, are physically split.
“Small communities along the border, those within a mile or two of the border on either side, over the history of our countries, they’ve become these intermingled groups, these intermingled communities,” Peters explained. “Kids attend music classes or swim classes on the other side, and then people shop for food and other necessities on the opposite part of the border. This intermixing makes it appear as if it’s the omission of loss that the closure of the border and this strict demand has caused.”
Peters claimed that the one-size-fits-all approach to border control business has left that are located in border towns like Pembina left to dry. Without the proper provisions for this type of temporary travel, the local community and its businesses suffer.
“There’s never been any kind of window that said, ‘Hey, if you’re going for less than 24 hours, (or) if you’re just going to be across the border for two or three hours, or whatever, there should be there can be an opportunity for this kind of back and forth life,'” Peters stated. “It’s just been this one-size-fits-all, the border’s shut, and can’t cross idea, which has completely isolated these communities coast to coast and the businesses that depend on that intermingling.”
Peters claimed there’s no CARES Act money he knows of that could aid Mike’s Parcel’s current financial situation. However, he noted that the company was able to get funds in the past, which has helped keep the company running during the outbreak.
“We’ve been very thankful,” Peters stated. “The State of North Dakota has been amazing. For the record, I’m able to say that this state North Dakota has been amazing with the support we’ve received.
For in the future, Peters has a positive outlook due to three weeks of the flow of money before when PCR test results were restarted, which helped the company to relieve specific financial strain. Peters’ only option is to be patient.
“As far as looking forward, we’re in the same spot as we were back then because now we still don’t know when they’re going to change their policy,” Peters stated. “We’re not sure when there’s going to be a break in policy or a pivot in policy that will allow things to return a little.”