POINT ROBERTS, Wash. – The owner of the only grocery store on Point Roberts says the latest extension of the Canadian border closure has brought her to the breaking point.
“I just kind of hit a wall,” says store owner Ali Hayton. “It’s the first time I was actually super defeated in this whole time.”
Hayton says she’s struggled to keep her International Market open these many months but she can’t continue any longer without shoppers from Canada.
She says other exclaves that are cut off from the U.S. mainland received exemptions, but Point Roberts didn’t because of her store.
“They’ve got stores there. They can subsidize the food and home needs of every person in Point Roberts for the duration. And I did. I did for a long time,” says Hayton. “But the well’s run dry. I just financially cannot continue to subsidize it out of my own pocket.”
She says her requests for relief have gone unanswered by the offices of Governor Inslee and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
U.S. Representative Susan DelBene and State Reps Sharon Shewmake and Alicia Rule have been responsive but she says their influence is limited.
Hayton says she plans to close her store on July 15th.