Delays increasing parents’ frustration

Islanders on both sides of bridge struggling with isolation after latest travel deferral

Kristin Banks just wants to see her step-daughter.

It’s been since November, and she and her husband, Barry, are getting anxious.

While they have been able to watch the nine-year-old’s hockey games online from their home in Nova Scotia, the Island-born couple is missing the human connection.

And with the Atlantic bubble’s most recent deferral, the Banks, like many other families in the region, will be waiting a while longer before they can get back to P.E.I.

When they first heard the bubble was delayed again, they were upset. It’s now been a year of following pandemic protocols, Kristin said.

“My husband and I have been doing everything since this all started, to keep our circle small, to not go out, to not be in restaurants, to not be in heavily crowded spaces.”

But as the number of COVID-19 cases went up in Nova Scotia, their frustration turned more to disappointment.

LET DOWN

“Now in Nova Scotia, we’re in such a mess,” she said. “We can’t see our kid. But is it safe for us to go home right now? I don’t know.”

Most of all, she said, what they want now is a solid answer on when borders will open up.

“Just having no end in sight is a little bit exhausting.”

The Banks’ work and financial situation don’t allow for any of the permitted border crossing options like quarantining in a hotel, Kristin said.

“What? We’ll pay for a rental that is almost as much as our rent, for a week?”

Things have been hard on the daughter, too.

“She misses us and she wants to be safe. She’s also considered immune-suppressed, and we want her to be safe, too,” Kristin said. “Thank God for technology, I guess.”

Still, Kristin and Barry don’t want the bubble opened recklessly.

“I can’t speak for everybody and say, ‘Yeah, open it up so we can see our families’. Some people aren’t as careful as we were.”

There may have been a missed opportunity to unite families in the winter when case numbers were low, she said.

“Two months ago, there was barely any (cases) and still, there was no way for us to physically see our kid unless we quit our jobs.”

They want a solid date on when things will open.

“Moving forward, when these case numbers come down, how do we see her?”

FEELING TRAPPED

Sunny Gallant’s situation on P.E.I.’s north shore is a bit different, though she’s still struggling with the sense of isolation.

Gallant has family in Alberta, including her only sibling, and she has a daughter in New Brunswick.

“I haven’t seen my kid in New Brunswick since COVID started,” she said.

It’s gotten to the point where her daughter, who lives with a genetic thyroid issue, regularly calls her, upset.

“(It’s) painful. My daughter calls me crying. It hurts. It’s sad and devastating. It’s frustrating,” she said. “I’ve talked to a realtor about selling my property. That’s how bad it is.”

But that’s not feasible either. Gallant is a home-care worker and is part of a team who cares for a client with near round-the-clock needs.

She also can’t afford staying in a hotel for weeks, now required for travellers isolating in New Brunswick. She only received a few hundred dollars in COVID relief money, the amount paid to recipients of Canada Pension.

She’d also like to see more border testing and airport testing and restrictions loosened for people who can prove they’re not infected.

The CPHO did announce new border measures on May 4.

“Some of the other changes include: the requirement of a pre-arrival test for people arriving from outside Atlantic Canada,” they said.

Beyond that, Gallant said, home care workers are not receiving enough recognition as essential workers and the Island government is not providing adequate mental health support.

“I’m getting no mental health care. I’m writing letters to the editor,” she said. “Who am I supposed to talk to?”

The Guardian contacted the provincial government to share her concerns but did not hear back by deadline.