John Alan Aucoin and Adrienne Yorinks celebrated their wedding reception a year ago at the Inverness Council for the Arts. Since then, they’ve been sharing their time between their Cape Breton home and Florida. But this year is different -- COVID-19 travel restrictions are keeping them on different sides of the border.

The federal government has indicated there would be exemptions for immediate family members of Canadian citizens crossing the border into Canada, but Yorinks, an American citizen, wasn’t allowed to follow her Canadian husband to their home in Grand Étang.

“When we showed up at the Canadian border,” Aucoin said, “it looked like everything was fine. We had proof that we were married, gave that to the border agent. (…) at that point I was told, ‘your wife can’t come across,’ and I said, ‘that’s not what I understand because I’ve been relying on the prime minister’s statements.’ Also, I had printed out the orders in council, which deal with direct travel from the United States and travel from abroad. I showed those to the border agent, and he was a little perplexed as to how he was going to handle this.” Eventually, the officer rejected Yorinks and told the couple to return to the U.S. But having already crossed into Canada, Aucoin couldn't go back.

After weeks of trying to get an answer from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, the couple received a document confirming that immediate family members could enter the country if their travel was considered essential. But decisions on what constitutes non-discretionary travel seem to be left to individual border agents. “It depends on what border guard you get,” Yorinks said, “One of them actually said, ‘we don’t work for the government, we are the government’ … So, they are interpreting at will, I think, because some border crossings were letting people in and some weren’t.”

In a statement to CHNE, the Canada Border Services Agency said, “To enter Canada, a foreign national spouse, of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, must demonstrate that their travel is essential. Some examples of essential travel purposes are: crossing the border for work and study; economic services and supply chains; critical infrastructure support; health (immediate medical care), safety and security; shopping for essential goods such as medication or goods necessary to preserve the health and safety of an individual or family; and other activities at the discretion of the BSO [Border Services Officer].” The CBSA never answered the follow-up question, whether people travelling under the same circumstances could obtain different decisions depending on the officer.

The couple contacted the local federal MP Mike Kelloway to seek help. “We’re not only aware of it, we’re now involved in it,” Kelloway said, “We’re working to ensure that whatever process needs to be filled out, whatever process needs to be completed, paperwork or whatever the case may be, that we get to that point so that this person can be reunited with their wife.”

Following her rejection at the border, Yorinks has been gathering her documents to apply for permanent residency in Canada. In the meantime, the couple has been staying busy by doing projects at home and staying in touch over the phone.