Sen. Murray introduces plan to help Point Roberts businesses during border closure
Aid in the form of federal loans could be on the way for small businesses struggling to survive in Point Roberts while the U.S.-Canada border is closed during the corornavirus pandemic.
Washington state U.S. Senator Patty Murray announced Wednesday, Sept. 16, that she has introduced legislation to provide relief to businesses in the enclave that finds themselves cut off from the rest of Whatcom County and their primary revenue stream by the border closure.
The Remote Recreational Small Business Interruption Program Act would provide forgivable federal loads to small businesses located in small enclaves, such as Point Roberts or Minnesota’s Northwest Angle, according to a release on the proposed bill.
Approximately 1,300 Point Roberts residents cannot travel to the rest of Whatcom County without entering British Columbia, driving approximately 26 miles around Boundary Bay and re-entering the United States in Blaine at the Peace Arch Border Crossing.
The Port of Bellingham has offered free passenger ferry service from Point Roberts since Aug. 15 to help residents with medical appointments in Whatcom County. The ferry now goes to Bellingham’s Fairhaven terminal twice a week.
Border crossings in Point Roberts and Blaine have been closed since the two countries decided to prohibit non-essential travel in an effort to reduce the spread of COVID-19 on March 21. The two countries announced last month a fifth extension of the border restrictions until at least Sept. 21, and now Canadian authorities are leaning toward extending that closure until at least Thanksgiving.
“The prolonged travel restrictions at the border have disrupted countless lives and exacerbated the devastating economic consequences of this pandemic for small businesses and local governments all over Whatcom County, especially in Point Roberts,” Senator Murray said in the release.
Businesses in Point Roberts have been put in particular distress, the release states, because U.S. citizens cannot reach the enclave with the border closed, “effectively barring tourists and visitors — a major revenue source for the region — and hurting the local economy.”
Murray and several other congressional colleagues last month sent a letter to Acting U.S. Ambassador to Canada Richard M. Mills Jr., urging cooperation between the two countries to find a solution that would allow limited and safe travel for Point Robert residents.
Gov. Jay Inslee also has appealed to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to find a solution to the community’s isolation.
“Point Roberts and other border communities have faced some of the most difficult economic challenges of this uncertain time, and I’m going to keep pushing the federal government to provide relief and clarity to these communities as quickly as possible,” Murray added in Wednesday’s release.
Under Murray’s proposal, small businesses would be eligible for federal loans up to 75% of their 2019 revenue, the release states, as long as the business’ revenue dropped by at least half during the second quarter of 2020. Loan forgiveness also would be reduced by any additional relief received through the Paycheck Protection Program or other federal loan forgiveness programs.
The Border Police Research Institute at Western Washington University, in a recent report, said that nearly seven million trips were made into Whatcom County by Canadian visitors in 2018, and a quarter of those visitors came to shop and spend an estimated $138 million at local stores and businesses. The border closing has reducing border crossing from Canada by 98%, the report states.
