Watch above: Online producer Yuliya Talmazan talks about what is closed and what is still in operation during U.S. government shutdown.
TORONTO – The standoff that partially shut down the U.S. government persisted with no sign of a breakthrough Tuesday, and had many north of the border wondering how Canadians would be affected.
For those trying to get across land or air borders:
Tourists will not have access to national parks or government museums in the U.S., but they should be able to get through border crossings without too much delay. This is because Border Patrol agents and air traffic controllers are classified as essential employees, and will continue to work.
Spokesperson Esme Bailey said it was “business as usual” at the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) for those travelling into Canada. The border wait times page on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) website suggested there was no unusual delay at Canadian ports of entry, with 10 minutes listed as the longest delay. Click here to check border wait times near you.
“Everything is normal,” Marie-Claude Desgagnés told the Montreal Gazette. Desgagnés is with Aéroports de Montréal, which oversees operations at Montreal’s airports. Customs lineups were consistent with what they normally are as of noon on Tuesday, according to the Gazette.
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Tourist areas in the U.S. that are closed to the public include:
- the Statue of Liberty
- Yosemite National Park and all other national parks
- World War II and other memorials, along with about 45 fountains maintained by the National Park Service
- Alcatraz
- Smithsonian Institution National Zoo
- the U.S. Capitol
- government-run museums on the National Mall
Tourist areas that are still open include:
- Corcoran Gallery of Art
- Newseum
- International Spy Museum
- National Geographic Museum
- National Building Museum
- The Phillips Collection
The Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and Ford’s Theatre will open for evening performances.
For any Canadians mailing items to or from the U.S., the U.S. Postal Service will remain up and running.
NASA has been partially shut down, including its asteroid-watch Twitter account, which is followed by over a million people.
Due to the gov't shutdown, all public NASA activities/events are cancelled or postponed until further notice. Sorry for the inconvenience.
— NASA Asteroid Watch (@AsteroidWatch) October 1, 2013
Other websites that are down include the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
With files from The Associated Press
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