Americans travelling through Yukon may have been targeted because of their licence plates
Some American travellers may have been targeted during an overnight stop in Haines Junction, Yukon, last week.
Americans travelling through Canada to Alaska have reported being harassed because of the licence plates on their vehicles.
There have been ongoing complaints from Canadians who say Americans should not be allowed into the country during the COVID-19 pandemic or that some are not following the rules.
Todd Fuhrmeister and his partner are now in Alaska after driving up from Utah. He was transferred to a military base there.
They stopped in Haines Junction Thursday night where they checked into the Raven's Rest Inn, he said.
They parked their SUV and trailer with a car on it alongside the access road in front of the hotel.
Fuhrmeister said when his partner went out to the vehicle in the morning, she saw the back window of the SUV had been smashed.
He said nothing was stolen. He wasn't going to call police, but said the hotel owner did. An RCMP officer spoke with Fuhrmeister and took some information.
The hotel owner also arranged for some construction workers to tape down a plastic covering over the smashed window, Fuhrmeister said. He said they did a great job.
"I didn't expect it to last, but it will be like this until I get moved in my new house and can get a new one from the junkyard," he said.
He and his partner followed the rules for travelling through Canada, he said, and wore masks when around other people.
The people they talked to along the way were all pleasant to them. And he said the Yukon government employees at the checkstop outside Watson Lake were "very polite."
The RCMP officer in Haines Junction mentioned there had been similar incidents targeting vehicles with American plates in Whitehorse, Fuhrmeister said.
He said he doesn't blame Canadians for what happened.
"My guess is someone who is ignorant about the situation saw an opportunity to express their anger," said Fuhrmeister.
"It's the actions of an individual, or small group of people that don't represent anyone else."
The RCMP says it is investigating the incident.
