There are more signs today that the Justin Trudeau government is set to drop vaccine mandates and put an end to the unpopular ArriveCAN app, perhaps within the next two weeks. The mask mandate for flights within Canada also appears up for debate.
Writing in the Toronto Sun today, columnist Brian Lilley reports that “The ArriveCan app may no longer be mandatory and other remaining travel requirements and restrictions for air travel in Canada could soon be removed. If all goes well, masking could even be made optional within the next few weeks.”
Lilley said he’s had conversations with senior officials in and out of government and that signs “point to a fluid situation where final details are still being worked out but, generally speaking, most measures will be gone by the end of September.”
The current government orders in council that require travellers to be fully vaccinated to enter Canada expire on Sept. 30, 2022, as does the ArriveCAN app legislation.
Lilley said Health Minister Yves Duclos may be pushing for an extension of the mask mandate to beyond Canadian Thanksgiving, which is Monday, October 10. The Thanksgiving holiday is a busy one for airlines, and many health officials no doubt would prefer people keep their masks on while flying on a long weekend.
The Toronto Star first reported that vaccine mandates and the ArriveCAN app could soon be gone. The Sun story today adds more fuel to the fire.
The ArriveCAN app logo.
Tourism officials and Canadian border city mayors have argued for months that government regulations such as the ArriveCAN app have discouraged Americans and other visitors from coming into Canada. Civil liberty groups also argue the rules are an infringement on the rights of Canadians.
In a note posted on his Twitter account, WestJet CEO Alexis von Hoensbroech said the news is a “positive signal” and that “hopefully it includes a transition of mandatory masking on airplanes as well and turn masking to ‘recommended but optional’ as it becomes increasingly unenforceable!”
Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman said on Twitter this weekend that Ottawa “has clung to COVID-19 restrictions longer than any provincial government in the country. Liberal political science of continued measures has damaged our economy and our reputation.
“It looks like reason may finally prevail,” former Air Canada executive Duncan Dee said on his Twitter feed. “With recent moves by NZ (New Zealand) and Australia, Canada is increasingly isolated, clinging to fed mandates” that can’t be enforced.
“Canada’s travel and tourism sectors pay a high price,” Dee said.
New Zealand this week lifted all COVID-19 travel restrictions, including testing and vaccination requirements.
