| Canadian travel and tourism experts says Ottawa needs to permanently remove arrival testing and other COVID-19 restrictions.
The Trudeau government on Friday said it will temporarily suspend random COVID-19 testing of incoming international passengers at Canadian airports. Random testing at airports will be temporarily suspended at all airports starting on Saturday, June 11 until June 30, for those who are fully vaccinated. But the government said the rule changes are only for a few weeks, and that testing will continue after June 30, albeit off-site and not on airport property. Officials said they need to continue random testing so they can better track COVID-19 in Canada. They also said the move to off-site testing will improve congestion at Canadian airports. “It’s going to make sure that the airports flow more quickly. The airports aren’t designed to be mini health care centres and so this will help with staff, it’ll help with congestion,” said Tourism Minister Randy Boissonault. “So this is a good step in the right direction.” Tourism leaders, however, sounded less than impressed. The Canadian Travel and Tourism Roundtable said it welcomes the announcement made Friday by the American federal government to remove all testing requirements for travellers to the United States. Similarly, the Roundtable welcomes the step taken by the Canadian government to temporarily suspend mandatory arrivals testing for vaccinated travellers to assist with current congestion at airports, but continues to call on the Canadian Government to permanently remove all arrival testing and other remaining COVID-19 restrictions. Friday’s announcements “mark an important milestone for the North American travel and tourism industry as it attempts to rebuild following more than two years of restrictions and shutdowns,” the group said. “Notwithstanding (those) announcements, there is still significant work to do to alleviate unnecessary pressures on the travel sector and passenger experience. This includes immediately lifting the outdated vaccine mandates for passengers and federally regulated aviation workers and removing the duplicative health checks at Canada’s airports. While today’s announcement in Canada will remove some testing, there will remain congestion issues as all passengers’ vaccination status will continue to be determined at the border, with unvaccinated travellers still required to undergo a COVID-19 test upon arrival through June. “Canada’s outdated rules are causing unacceptable delays at the country’s major airports, keeping international visitors away and souring Canada’s reputation on the world stage,” The Roundtable group said. “Domestically, Canada’s travel rules are hurting small businesses, unfairly impacting families looking to enjoy the summer travel season and forcing the cancellation of conferences and events that help power local economies. ” “Unfairly targeting travel and tourism is a relic from the earliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic. Medical experts have been clear; Canada’s current border policies are outdated and no longer helping keep COVID-19 out of Canada. While today’s announcement marks an important step in the right direction, there is still work to do,” said Perrin Beatty, President & CEO of Canada’s Chamber of Commerce. To that end, the Roundtable calls on the federal government to immediately:
Canadians are ready to travel abroad, and international travellers are ready to travel to Canada. As demand for travel returns and other global economies re-open, Canada’s border policies and resources must reflect the new reality. |
