There are ways to safely ease border restrictions despite the pandemic to help businesses in Canada and the United States, a team of UWindsor researchers suggest in a newly published paper.

In a nine-page discussion paper sent to policy makers in Ottawa and business groups in North America, the Cross-Border institute has reviewed the ongoing effects of severely restricted cross-border activity. The researchers say they hope the paper spurs conversation on how to responsibly restore mobility across land borders.

“It’s time to find ways to live and prosper in a world where the threat of COVID-19 infection affects everything we do,” said Bill Anderson, a professor of political science and director of the Cross-Border Institute, a UWindsor research centre that studies the movement of people, goods, services, and funds across international borders.

“We welcome comment, debate, and even criticism of our ideas,” Dr. Anderson said. “We only insist that the process of finding a way to safely and responsibly restore cross-border mobility must begin.”

He pointed to a pilot program in Alberta at the Coutts land border crossing and Calgary International Airport as an example of how testing for COVID-19 can be used to cut down quarantine periods. These pilot programs show that this topic is of concern to the federal government.

In their paper, Anderson, Marta Leardi-Anderson, and Laurie Tannous don’t argue for throwing the border wide open, but rather to establish a system using available rapid tests to screen out potential border crossers who carry the virus. Testing does not have to be perfect, but it has to be good enough to ensure cross-border travel does not accelerate the spread of the virus, they argue.

“If there is no difference in the prevalence of the virus in the populations on either side of the order, there would be no reason to restrict border crossings,” Anderson said. “We need testing to be good enough to offset the differences in infection rates that currently exist in the U.S. and Canada.”

Anderson said the stream of trucks flowing over the Ambassador Bridge and other border crossings gives the false impression that commerce has been unaffected. But, he said, those truck shipments are based on contracts negotiated in the past, most likely in face-to-face meetings between manufacturers and suppliers.

With those meetings no longer allowed under COVID restrictions, the flow of goods may begin to dry up once existing contracts are fulfilled and building new business networks is interrupted, Anderson said.

Canadian mould makers and companies providing automation to the automotive industry have been especially vocal about the effect border restrictions are having on their bottom line, Anderson said. “They tell us they are losing millions of dollars worth of new contracts because they cannot visit manufacturers in the U.S. and they cannot bring in potential customers for site visits.”

Without vaccines and with infection rates skyrocketing, restricting border mobility was a prudent initial reaction, the researchers said. But testing options now available can help manage the risk.

Conducting tests at land border crossings is not practical, they say. A better option is for travellers to present evidence of recent negative tests before they are allowed to cross. This would require reciprocal agreements between Canada and the United States on which tests are acceptable, how recent a negative test must be, and how testing results can be conveyed securely to border officials.

Anderson said he and his team don’t purport to be scientists or medical specialists.

“We’re just people who know about cross-border business and cross-border logistics,” he said. “Scientists, doctors, and public health officials will have to make the final calls on acceptable risks, and they must have the option to reimpose restrictions when infection rates rise.”

—Sarah Sacheli

A book born of “a crazy moment” in Paris will enjoy a reading by the author in professor André Narbonne’s class on Windsor’s literary culture Thursday, Dec. 3.

Author Marty Gervais, resident writing professional in the Department of English and Creative Writing, will read from his latest publication, Nine Lives: A Reunion in Paris.

He traces the book’s genesis to an encounter near the Seine river. He was with nine women: UWindsor students heading home after a week in Burgundy, where he had led them in a class.

“They were approached by a young man who was curious how I — a much older man — knew these young women,” Gervais recalls. “One of the students leaned over to tell him in French that I was their father — father of all nine girls. They were half-sisters, and I was their father from nine different marriages.”

The women went on to claim that this gathering of the sisters was their first time meeting.

“It was hilarious, and that led me to writing these letters to my nine fictional daughters,” says Gervais. “I did that on the plane ride home. And when Daniel Lockhart of Urban Farmhouse Press saw it, he decided he’d like to see it in print, and so all these years later, the book is being published.”

Besides his role with the University, Gervais has had a long career in journalism, is publisher of Black Moss Press, and served as Windsor’s first poet laureate.

Thursday’s reading will feature guests, possibly including some of the Parisian “daughters,” now living in varied locations around the world. Dr. Narbonne suspects the event may mark a first.

“I don’t know of a book opening taking place in a Zoom classroom before,” he says.

It will run 2:30 to 4 p.m. and is open to the public to attend. Email Narbonne at anarbonn@uwindsor.ca for details.

With self-driving cars gaining traction in today’s automobile landscape, the issue of legal liability in the case of an accident has become more relevant, says kinesiology professor Francesco Biondi.

“What are the legal responsibilities of the human driver and the car maker that built the self-driving car?” Dr. Biondi writes in an article published Monday in the Conversation, which shares news and views from the academic and research community.

“Unlike using a smartphone app, operating a car has intrinsic and sizeable safety risks, whether the driver is human or software. Human drivers need to consent to take responsibility for the outcomes of the software and hardware.”

He recommends training for drivers to ensure they fully understand the capabilities and limits of self-driving systems, but notes that is not likely to shield automakers from their legal liability should the system malfunction or an accident occur.

“All of this considered, the road forward for self-driving cars is not going to be a smooth ride after all,” Biondi concludes.

Read his entire piece, “Who’s to blame when a self-driving car has an accident?” in the Conversation.

Lancer Rec wrapped up its fall intramural eSport leagues Sunday, with competitors battling to win $25 gift cards.

• Saffat Khan beat out Tyrell Charles for the FIFA 21 title.
• Moses Genat continued his undefeated streak to finish atop the NBA 2K20 league.
• Michael Khosho went unbeaten through his bracket in Rocket League 1v1.
• Peter Vu and Daniom Hailemariam emerged triumphant in Rocket League 2v2. Check out the recorded stream of play.

Read a more complete account at goLancers.ca. Intramural eSport leagues will return in January.

A workshop titled “Recognizing and Managing Imposter Phenomenon” may help UWindsor faculty and staff fighting feelings that the don’t belong.

One of the workshop presenters, psychology professor Dana Ménard, says imposter feelings may include:

• high levels of self-doubt and self-criticism,
• difficulty accepting compliments or praise,
• perfectionism, and
• concerns that others will find out you don’t know what you are doing.

The workshop will detail how imposter feelings may present, and provide practical tips and resources for recognizing and managing those feelings.

“Feeling like an impostor is a common experience for individuals in academia,” says Dr. Ménard. “It is characterized as an intellectual feeling of phoniness that can undermine self-confidence.”

The 90-minute session begins at 4 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8. To register, visit the IP Workshop Registration page. No Blackboard account is required.

Lancer Gaming will host the Toronto Varsity Blues in ESports League of Legends action Thursday, Dec. 3, at 8 p.m.

The match will be live-streamed free to the public on Twitch.TV/OPSEsports.

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