The Justin Trudeau government has announced a four-week advisory for Canadians to avoid non-essential travel. The government today also suggested new testing rules could be coming.
Canadian Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said the federal government’s advisory will be posted in the next few hours. He also said Ottawa will continue to expand capacity “to test as many people as possible as quickly as possible,” and that the government “will more have to say on that in the very near future.”
“There will certainly be other measures,” he said. “All actions are on the table.”
“We must stand together,” the minister said. “To those planning to travel I say, very clearly, ‘Now is not the time to travel.'”
Duclos said the advisory will last four weeks, which would be until January 12. The government will then reassess the situation.
“This may sound drastic but we must avoid overloading the health care system and front-line workers,” the minister said.
Duclos said Canadians who travel internationally risk contracting COVID-19 or getting stranded.
Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Canadians should be cautious this holiday season.
“If you don’t have to travel internationally, please do not,” he said.
Asked if Ottawa will bring back the requirement for Canadians to get PCR tests even if they travel to the U.S. for less than three days, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra dodged the question, saying only that the government is “constantly reassessing” the situation.
Asked about advising Canadians on interprovincial travel, Duclos said that’s a matter for Canada’s provinces and territories to discuss.
The Canadian government recently ruled that incoming travellers from all countries other than the U.S. have to be tested upon arrival, and isolate while awaiting test results. Those results can take up to three days, officials said.
There were reports that those testing rules would be extended to travellers coming from the U.S.. That didn’t happen today, but Duclos did hint at further changes down the road.
“If there is a plan to introduce additional testing, Canadians and travellers should be advised of this, without delay,” said Daniel-Robert Gooch, President of the Canadian Airports Council. “Back when the increased arrivals tests were announced several weeks ago, the situation today was predictable.
“Our travellers deserve the benefit of predictability for their own planning purposes.”
“It’s difficult to hear that the Canadian government is planning to take a step backwards with our travel measures, especially since we as an industry have been pushing for leadership,” said Anthony Norejko, President and CEO at Canadian Business Aviation Association (CBAA).
“I immediately recalled an appearance back in July of….2020 calling for testing. Earlier in that same month, we created a #CBAAFltPlan for government to follow to responsibly get Canadians moving safely.
“And yet today in December of 2021… we’re talking about rapid testing kits ‘just’ getting into the hands of school kids. We refuse to acknowledge the value of rapid testing for travel (unlike others across the globe) and we’re back to thinking travel restrictions will work. (on the same day the UK is rolling the red list away).
“By the time you discover a variant… it’s already here!”
Members of the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable (“The Roundtable”) issued a release on Wednesday to say they “are calling on the Prime Minister and the Government of Canada not to introduce additional blanket, restrictive border and travel measures and to continue to focus on more meaningful interventions to ensure Canadians are protected throughout this pandemic, like testing and vaccination.
“Travel bans and border restrictions are ineffective tools to halt Omicron as the variant has already taken hold in Canada. Introducing additional and overly restrictive travel measures at this time is not rooted in science, does little to stop the spread of the Omicron variant in Canada and creates an enormous amount of harm to an industry already on its knees. Closing borders and preventing travel is simply not the solution.
“Over the past 20 months, the Canadian travel and tourism sector has worked hand-in-hand with government to ensure the safety of Canadians and those travelling to Canada. The sector remains one of the safest internationally; all air passengers must be fully vaccinated, all passengers have tested negative for COVID-19 prior to travel, and all are tested a second time upon arrival. Canada is the only country in the western world to test travellers twice. No other activity in Canada can claim this degree of scrutiny, and no other country in the Americas or Western Europe maintains this level of precaution.
“Leaders in the Canadian travel and tourism space will continue to work with government on providing meaningful solutions that protect public health and safety. To that end, the Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable strongly supports any government decision to increase vaccination rates, ramp up booster campaigns, and ensure more Canadians have access to rapid at-home antigen tests. These common-sense measures will be incredibly helpful in protecting all Canadians against the most serious effects of COVID-19 and halting its spread.”
