The Canadian government says it should be able to announce changes to COVID-19 travel restrictions next week.
Speaking at a press event today in Ottawa, Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos said that “the worst of Omicron is behind us” and that “we should be able to communicate changes next week.”
Canada has been requiring all travellers, including Canadians with two vaccinations or even two vaccinations and a booster, to take a PCR-style COVID-19 test within 72 hours of their scheduled departure. That rule has come under increasing fire, with two well-known Canadian doctors on Thursday calling the testing “futile” and “obsolete.”
The tests also can be very expensive; up to $300 CAD or even more. That makes travel too costly for most Canadians, and prohibitively expensive for a family.
Air Canada issued a tweet on Thursday to say it’s time to end testing for fully vaxxed travellers.
“We believe our country should align with the emerging global consensus and adjust our policies to better match the diminishing risks of the pandemic, including a plan to remove restrictions and testing requirements for fully vaccinated travellers,” the airline said.
Canada’s chief medical officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said today that Canada is “past the peak” and that she’s starting to see “hopeful signs.” But she noted there are still some severe outbreaks taking place.
There were reports the government today would announce that fully vaccinated Canadians would be exempted from PCR testing, but that didn’t happen.
Asked about lifting Canada’s “no travel” advisory, officials would only say they are “actively examining” the border and travel situation.
The Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable, which has consistently called for change to travel rules in Canada, said it “looks forward” to next week’s announcement.
“There is no scientific reason that justifies travel being singled out as the only activity that requires testing and isolation. Accordingly, we are hopeful that the Canadian government will establish a plan with a clear timeline for removing restrictions, including the removal of unnecessary pre-departure and arrivals testing and isolation requirements for fully vaccinated travellers and blanket travel advisories, as has been done by other international jurisdictions,” the group said.
Canadian travel agents say the costs of PCR tests have been a strong deterrent to travel, which in turn has caused damage to the tourism industry. WestJet recently announced it was extending its 20% cut in flights until the end of March.
“It is disappointing that Canada remains stagnant in its approach and continues to make travel inaccessible and punitive for Canadians and inbound tourists,” WestJet interim president and CEO Harry Taylor said Monday in a release.
